


In the Dark of the Night

by NamelesslyNightlock, Rabentochter



Series: This Was A Bad Idea (but we know what we're doing) [6]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fairy Tale Elements, Falling In Love, Fantasy, Feels, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Hurt Tony Stark, Identity Reveal, Illusions, Loki (Marvel) Does What He Wants, Loki (Marvel) Feels, Loki (Marvel) Gets a Hug, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mistakes, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Naga, Naga Loki (Marvel), Personal Growth, Pining, Possessive Behavior, Possessive Loki (Marvel), Protective Loki (Marvel), Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Gets a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Warning: Loki (Marvel)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2020-10-14 00:29:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 35,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20591657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NamelesslyNightlock/pseuds/NamelesslyNightlock, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rabentochter/pseuds/Rabentochter
Summary: Tony knew that anyone who went out into the forest at night rarely came back, and that those who did often wished that they hadn’t. But he'd never been the kind of person to back down from a challenge—And perhaps the dangers of the forest aren’t completely clear cut.





	1. Wet socks are gross

**Author's Note:**

  * For [STARSdidathing](https://archiveofourown.org/users/STARSdidathing/gifts).

>   
  
HAPPY BIRTHDAY STARS!!! 🎉🎈 LOVE FROM YOUR DOTING WIVES 💕   
  


Everyone in the village knew the cardinal rule– don’t go into the forest at night, because that’s when the monsters come out to roam.

And Tony _knew_ that it was a stupid idea right from the start. He’d heard the stories often enough– he’d seen the scratches on the town gates after dark nights, and he’d seen the madness in the eyes of those unfortunate enough to have survived whatever was out there.

He _knew_ that anyone who went out into the forest at night rarely came back, and that those who did often wished that they hadn’t.

But…

But Clint had issued a challenge, and Tony was never the kind of person to back down from a _dare_.

Rhodey told him he was an idiot for even thinking of accepting, and Tony _knew_ that. But really, it should be fine, yeah? It wouldn’t be _too_ dangerous. He didn’t even have to go out when it was totally dark– even Clint wasn’t that cruel. _Two hours before sunset_, he’d said. _Enough to be risky, not enough for you to end up dead. I hope_.

Yeah. Right. Well, Tony sincerely doubted that the monsters kept to an actual schedule, but he’d have to hope that the light of the sun really was what kept them at bay. He knew people who had arrived back inside the village walls mere _minutes_ before the gates were locked at the setting of the sun, and they had been entirely safe.

So. Yeah. He would be _fine_.

But of course, in the end, it wasn’t a monster that got him– it was his own goddamn clumsiness, an ill-placed step and a too steep hill that sent him rolling down a ravine and landing at the bottom with a broken ankle.

At first, he hadn’t felt a thing– but when he tried to get to his feet, his leg gave out from under him and the pain was _excruciating_, and he hadn’t been able to stop himself from calling out in agony as he hit the ground again.

He bit on his lip and cursed and _swore_ as he looked down at his damaged foot, the ankle already beginning to swell. Thankfully, the small ravine he had fallen into had a stream running through it, and Tony managed to painfully pull himself along the ground toward it. For a moment, he considered taking his boot off, but decided against it– it would serve as some compression and support for now, and if he couldn’t get out of the forest by nightfall, then… well. A wet sock would be the least of his problems.

So he dipped his whole foot into the water, and only just _barely_ held back another yell from the sudden bite of cold. It was only just the beginning of spring, and the water was still near icy– only just thawed from the freeze of the winter, from the feel of it. And the snowmelt meant that it was moving quickly enough to put pressure on his foot, so despite the cold he lowered his other into the water as well, to brace it against the injured ankle. That helped, but it meant that _both_ of his feet were freezing. He was well aware of the risks of this, that his toes very well might end up frostbitten– but he _needed_ to get out of the forest, and he couldn’t do that if his ankle swelled up to the size of a pumpkin.

Sitting there, Tony glanced around at his surroundings, looking for anything that he might be able to use as a splint or a cane– but unfortunately, it seemed that he had left all of the trees far above him.

Thankfully, his knife was still in its sheath on the side of his leg, and thinking he would only be in the forest for an hour at most he hadn’t brought anything else with him. It had been an arrogant, _stupid_ move– but of course… any longer than that, and his hopes of survival would be pretty low regardless.

Tony wasn’t like Steve, or Natasha, or Clint, or even Rhodey– he knew that if he were attacked by an ogre, or an acromantula, or a harpy or a chimera or any of the other kinds of monstrous beasts that lived in the forest, he would not be able to fight them off. Not by himself. His skills lay in _making_ weapons, not in using them– and if he couldn’t get home before dusk, then he likely would not be returning home at all.

Shaking away the dark thoughts and fighting to focus on the problem at hand, Tony glanced back to the hill he had fallen down. The slope itself looked far too step to climb, especially with Tony’s foot in the state that it was– as did the slope on the other side. But he had to hope that it wouldn’t remain so all the way along the stream. If he followed it, there was a chance that he would be able to find a spot in the slope easy enough to climb.

“Okay, Tony,” he muttered, struggling up to his feet. “Let’s do this.”

Not wanting to take his foot out of the numbing water, Tony decided to risk walking through it. The bed was lined with pebbles that weren’t too slippery to walk on, and if he moved downstream, the current actually helped. His foot couldn’t quite hold his weight– it no longer hurt too much, thanks to the cold, but it would just _flop_ whenever he tried to put weight on it. He didn’t have an option for a splint though, so until he could find a decent stick, he would just have to work with it. So, taking the only option available to him, Tony bent over to lay a hand on the shore, so that he could brace himself against the ground– and then he began an awkward kind of crab walk along the side of the water—

“What are you doing?”

At the sound of another voice, Tony nearly _leapt_ out of his _skin_– and he flailed enough that he ended up on his ass in the middle of the stream, glaring up at the man who was watching him amusedly.

The first thing Tony noticed about the man was that he was tall– and maybe that was just because Tony was so low down, what with having fallen over in the stream and all, but he didn’t think so. The second thing was the smirk, and the third was his _eyes—_

But honestly, what did it matter what the man looked like? Tony should be focused on the fact that, _somehow_, there was another person stupid enough to come into the forest just before nightfall—

Someone who could help him.

“Well, I was trying to get back to the village,” he said. “Hello, by the way—”

“Yes, I had guessed as much,” the man interrupted, tilting his head. “But why were you doing it in the stream?”

“Because I hurt my ankle, and the stream is cold.”

The man frowned, like he didn’t quite see the connection there– but then he smiled, his white teeth flashing in the light of the setting sun. “If you are hurt, I can provide some assistance.”

Tony nearly groaned in _relief_. “Can you help me get back?” he asked. “I’m from the village not far from here—”

“I don’t live in the village.”

Well, that much was obvious– Tony’s home was rather small, and he would have recognised this man if he had. But that didn’t matter. “If it’s too far, you can stay with me for the night,” Tony said quickly. He knew that was rather stupid– he didn’t know this guy, he could just as well be a criminal. But as he’d just thought a moment before, the sun was _setting_, and Tony really was fringing on the edge of downright desperate.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” the stranger replied. Though even as he spoke, he moved closer– and when he reached the edge of the stream, he held out his hand.

Tony took it a little warily– and the man almost flinched as he did.

“Apologies,” the man said upon seeing Tony’s expression. “Your hand is cold, that’s all.”

Yeah, no _shit_– the stream was freezing, and Tony was about _this far_ from shaking hard enough to fall over. But Tony didn’t think it was a good idea to go pointing out such things to the man who was teetering on the edge of maybe helping him survive.

“I have to get back before it gets dark,” Tony said instead, speaking through gritted teeth as the man pulled him back to his feet. “The monsters will come out soon.”

Something flashed in the man’s eyes then– eyes that were a bright, bright green, almost too bright to look natural. Tony wondered if it was just the light again, or if it was the green of the forest, or the contrast to the dark curtain of hair that fell just past the man’s shoulders– or perhaps some combination of the above. Still… he couldn’t help pressing his free hand to his wrist, to feel the outline of the charm he always wore– the charm that might as well have been standard issue in his village.

“Yes,” the man said. “You are right about that. So… why don’t you stay with me?”

Tony blinked, not having expected that in the slightest. “There aren’t any other villages near here,” he said. “Surely mine will be closer?”

“I told you,” the man whispered, pulling Tony out of the stream– but not stepping away himself, so that they were standing far too close. “I do not live in a village.”

_What?_

How was that even possible?

“But how do you survive?” Tony asked, his voice more than a little incredulous– so caught up in the shock that he hardly even noticed the way that the man’s hand curled in his damp shirt. “Without walls, without protection? How do you make it through the nights without being attacked by the monsters?”

“I assure you that it is perfectly sssafe,” the man replied. “And not very far from here. You will not have to put pressure on your ankle for long at all.”

It sounded so _tempting_, so very perfect and somehow _impossibly_ just what Tony needed. And yeah, it was dangerous, following someone he didn’t know into the forest just as the sun was beginning to go down. But… he didn’t see that he had a whole lot of choice.

Either he stayed out here where he _knew_ he was going to be in danger, or he followed this stranger into the unknown. Plus, it _did_ sound better than being left to the monsters. Perhaps in this situation, the devil he knew _was_ the worse option.

And the man really did seem so very… well, not _trustworthy_, but… Tony couldn’t really put his finger on it. There was just _something_.

But it seemed that he was taking too long to make up his mind, for the stranger pulled away then with a suddenness that had Tony almost stumbling.

“Whether you come with me or not, I must return to my own home,” the man said as he turned and took a step away from the stream– away from _Tony._ “As you said, you will see monsters in these trees the moment that the sun falls below the horizon.”

“Wait!” Tony exclaimed, almost losing his balance and reaching back out in desperation– and the man turned and caught him by the arms with an ease of strength that must have only seemed so pronounced because Tony himself felt so very weak.

“I should not stay for long,” the man said sternly– though his lips were turned up in the beginnings of a smirk, as if he knew he’d already won. “You have heard what happens to a person after they have been mauled by a werewolf, yes?”

“Werewolves only come out at the full moon,” Tony said quickly, though he couldn’t help the shard of fear that sparked through his chest.

“Yesss,” the man said– and his tongue curled around the edge of the last syllable, ending the word on a small hiss that had Tony shivering again… though in an entirely different way to before. “That is correct. But it is a full moon three nights hence, and older, more controlled wolves are still able to prowl.”

Tony almost cursed. Thanks a fucking heap, Clint. Of _course_ he would send Tony out on a night that close to the full moon. Tony was starting to think that maybe Clint _did_ want him dead after all.

“Come with me,” the man said, stepping closer once again as his voice lowered to something not unlike a purr. “As you said, you cannot stay here, and you will not make it all the way back to your village. But it _is_ still your decision, and if you would rather—”

“No,” Tony said quickly, turning his hands to grip the man’s arms firmly. “I’ll go with you. I don’t think I have much of a choice, actually.”

“You certainly do have a choice.” The man seemed to pause for a moment, as if considering something– but when he spoke, his voice was firm. “I _promise_. No further harm will come to you while you are my guest.”

Now, Tony wasn’t normally one to trust on someone’s word, but– the way that the man had hesitated, and the way that something in his promise just _felt_ so sure… well. Once again, Tony couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but he couldn’t help but think that there was more going on here than he knew.

Still. He’d already made his decision.

“Right, well,” Tony said, offering the man a smile. “If I’m going home with you, then am I at least allowed to know your name?”

“Loki.” His lips curled, as if he were amused by the question. “And you?”

Tony paused for a fraction of a moment before giving his answer. “Anthony.”

It _was_ his name– he had the odd feeling that anything other than the truth would have been dismissed. But it would also make it difficult for the stranger to find him after all of this if he tried, since literally everyone in the village – and those beyond that Tony had come into contact with while selling his wares – knew him only as _Tony_.

“Well then, Anthony,” Loki said. “Let’s get you somewhere warm and… sssafe.”

He wrapped an arm which felt strangely cool around Tony’s waist, and Tony leaned against him heavily. It was only as Loki’s hand smoothed down his side that Tony realised with a sudden jolt that, somehow, his clothes were _dry—_

“What—?”

“It’s not far,” Loki said again, and as he turned his head his face was so very _close_. “You should be able to manage, but if not– I will be able to carry you.”

Tony was actually torn in his reaction to that statement– because yeah, being carried was not normally something that he would have enjoyed, except… in that circumstance, with his ankle throbbing something fierce, the very thought of getting off his feet entirely almost seemed like the most perfect thought in the world. The water really had numbed his foot down to nothing, but walking was still a fucking struggle– and it hurt more with every step.

But Loki held a lot of his weight, and after only a few yards they were able to work out a way of walking so that Tony put almost no weight on his foot at all without even breaking stride. It felt near on natural, like he and Loki were thinking at the same pace.

Loki led Tony in the opposite direction to the one that he had been attempting to crab walk in before, so that they were travelling _up_stream. And he had been right about it not being far– even with Tony’s hobbling, they’d only been walking for a few minutes before they came to a small pool that lapped against a rocky outcrop– and which bubbled fiercely from the waterfall that flowed down into it.

“This way,” Loki said, drawing Tony a little closer to his side as he moved toward the pool.

“Are you kidding?” Tony asked, pausing for a moment– and almost falling over _again _when that meant that he accidently pulled away from Loki.

Loki actually rolled his eyes at that, and held Tony more firmly– the dark leather of his black coat feeling smooth under Tony’s hands as they splayed against Loki’s chest in an attempt to regain balance.

“You cannot tell me that you don’t want to go into the stream,” Loki said, clearly amused again. “Not after how I found you.”

“I have the feeling you’re not going to let that go,” Tony groaned. “But, I just. I’m already cold, and—”

“It is warm inside,” Loki said. “I promise.”

Tony didn’t quite get what Loki meant by _inside_, but the word ‘promise’ once again somehow made him sure that Loki was telling the truth. So he nodded, and allowed Loki to lead him closer to the pool– and then into the water. Tony gasped as the cold water hit his skin, but Loki actually _flinched, _and Tony had to wonder how he managed to apparently _live_ here when he hated cold water that much.

“It was almost easier when it was frozen,” Loki explained, his tone conversational. “I don’t like the cold, but at least then I did not need to get my– to get wet.”

“Yeah, wet socks are gross,” Tony muttered.

Thankfully, the bottom of the pool was lined with the same kind of pebbles that the stream had been, and it was easy enough to walk through– especially with Loki still holding him close. They skirted the edge of the waterfall and ducked underneath the outcrop– and there, set into the rock, was a small crevice. It was little more than a crack between two boulders, just wide enough for a man to pass through.

Except, if it was wide enough for _one_ man, then that meant Tony was going to have to get through without Loki’s help.

And.

Well.

“I don’t think I can do that,” Tony groaned. “I mean. I’m not going to fit, let alone—”

“You will,” Loki assured him firmly. And again, Tony found himself _wanting_ to believe him, but… his ankle was getting worse and worse, and if he let go of Loki now he was pretty sure he was going to end up face first in the water all over again.

But then Loki turned so that they were facing each other, and he placed one of his hands against the back of Tony’s neck, so that it was resting against the top of his spine. Tony felt his touch like a warm caress, and he closed his eyes with a sigh as, somehow, it felt like some of his pain melted away.

“What did you do?” he asked. “How—?”

“Nothing of significance,” Loki said. “This is down to _you_.”

Tony wasn’t so sure about that– but when Loki led him over to the crevice and let him go… Tony managed to stay on his feet. Sure, he reached out to grab the slippery rock as quickly as he could, but… it didn’t hurt as much as it _should_ have.

And, you know what? Tony still found it more than a little odd that Loki lived in a cave hidden behind a waterfall, but… in a way, it made _more_ sense than if Loki had led him to a hut, because this was certainly more hidden from the dangers of the forest. And as he took one more glance at the orange tinged sky that was about to darken to black, Tony knew that either way, inside was going to be a hell of a lot safer than out.

So, moving gingerly, Tony slid inside the outcrop, his hands pressing against the rock to hold himself steady. The passage was dark and very narrow, and as he passed through it, a strange tingle skittered over his skin—

But then he came out of the crack in the rock and into an open space, and he nearly fell to his knees as he blinked at the sudden warm light from the fire. It wouldn’t have been so bad – rather than the hard rock Tony had been expecting, the ground seemed to be softly carpeted – but cool hands caught him around his waist and drew him back against a firm and somehow already familiar chest.

“You see?” Loki said, his words whispered soothingly into Tony’s ear. “I promised that it would be warm.”

“I get the feeling that you’re the kind of person who keeps their promises,” Tony observed– realising only a second later that might have been a mistake to admit.

But Loki only chuckled. “Come on,” he said. “I also promised you somewhere more comfortable.”

Okay. So. Tony had to admit. He never would have expected it from a literal _cave_, but Loki was so right– his couch was definitely one of the _best_ that Tony had ever perched his ass upon. He wasn’t entirely sure how it all worked, since there was no _way_ the large leather thing could have got through the crack in the rock, but he wasn’t about to complain.

The whole cave was rather cozy, actually– there was the fireplace providing the warmth that Loki had promised, though the chimney must have been hidden by the rock above because Tony couldn’t see where the smoke was going. In front of the fire, laid over the light, goldish-coloured carpet was a large black rug, the kind that was thick and looked very comfortable to curl up on top of. The walls were just bare rock but lined with enough shelves that it was hardly noticeable– and the shelves were filled mostly with books, though there were other various knickknacks as well, and a few plants in pots. There was also another opening along the wall opposite the entrance, though it was much wider– and Tony could only assume that led to other rooms.

And as he leaned back against the _unfairly_ comfortable couch, Tony started to think that he really had made the right decision. After all, it was certainly better than being out in the woods after nightfall.

Loki was fussing with something on the other side of the cave, but Tony couldn’t turn to see what he was doing without jostling his ankle– which, once again, was starting hurt like a bitch. Whatever Loki had done to it – he must have pressed against one of Tony’s trigger points, like an acupuncturist relieving pain – was starting to wear off.

And then it didn’t help when a vicious _howl_ from outside the cave made him jump about a foot in the air—

“Do not worry,” Loki said, sounding entirely unconcerned as he sat on the couch by Tony’s feet. “They cannot get in here.”

It didn’t soothe Tony’s nerves entirely, but it was enough to calm his racing heart– and then he was further distracted as Loki placed his hand over Tony’s ankle, which caused Tony to swear at him.

Loki actually _hissed_ at that, a small, irritated sound that paused Tony in his tracks– and _not_ because it made him go warm in places that it definitely shouldn’t have.

“Stay still,” Loki chastised. “I cannot do this if you are wriggling around like a snakelet.”

Tony opened his mouth to protest – because really? _Snakelet?_ Where did that even come from? – but then he saw what it was that Loki was doing—

Because rather than just Loki’s bare hand resting on Tony’s swollen ankle, which was still encased in his sodden boot– Loki’s hand was actually _glowing_, green power twisting around his fingers and curling toward Tony’s injury.

Tony jerked his leg away instinctively, adrenaline overpowering the pain that the movement caused as he scurried back along the couch—

“What _are_ you?” he gasped, his heart beating rapidly once again, his breath coming much too fast.

Loki didn’t move any closer, but he didn’t move away, either. He watched Tony with a calculating expression, his head slightly tilted– and Tony couldn’t help but feel like he was being sized up for a meal.

“Calm,” Loki said, those unnaturally, _inhumanly_ bright eyes flashing as he held Tony’s gaze. “I promised that no harm would come to you– and I do not lie.”

It didn’t help– at least, not alone. But Tony, like any person who lived near the forest, knew all about the kinds of monsters that roamed within it. And while he was sure his knowledge was far from perfect – Loki had corrected him earlier on werewolves, after all – he knew that there were more than a few who literally _could not _lie. If Loki was one of them, then… perhaps Tony truly was safe.

And the fact that Loki remained on the other end of the couch, that he had not tried to reach out, or even tried to deny a single thing– that did more to calm Tony back down than anything.

Besides, he had _felt_ Loki’s strength. If he had wanted Tony dead, he could have killed him in the stream and then carried him back to his cave. If Loki really wanted to harm him, then this didn’t make any sense at all.

The logic slowed his heart, and brought his breaths back down to something almost normal. And the whole while Loki just watched him– his own breathing slow and steady, so much so as to seem on purpose, as if perhaps he were giving Tony something to focus on. It… helped.

And when Tony finally relaxed enough that his muscles were no longer as tense as a bowstring, Loki smiled.

Not a smirk, not this time– but a proper, warm smile.

“There,” Loki said gently.

But Tony wasn’t just going to let it go, not _just like that_. There had been enough fucking clues– he had been such an _idiot_. Yet, even so, the howl earlier had proved he couldn’t go back outside, so. Here he had to stay.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to ask any questions, though.

“You said you knew that _monsters_ lived in the woods,” Tony said slowly.

“Yess,” Loki agreed– and this time, Tony recognised the hiss as something… _else_. “But I never said that I was not one of them.”

Tony’s blood still felt a little cold, but he drew in another breath. “Okay,” he said. “Okay. You haven’t hurt me, and you promised that you wouldn’t—”

“I keep my promises.” Loki’s voice went a little hard, there. And despite knowing now that Loki wasn’t human, Tony still believed him.

Of course, he wasn’t so naïve enough to be unable to recognise that honest truth could be as sharp a weapon as a lie– sometimes even more so, when spoken by the right tongue.

“Then tell me,” Tony said. “What are you?”

Loki tilted his head. “What do you think I am?”

Tony wanted to complain about the obvious avoidance, but… he paused for a moment, catching Loki’s analytical expression once more. And then, he couldn’t help but feel like this was some kind of test– and rather than disquieting him, it made him want to see if he could impress.

Goddamn it. He really did have a problem with challenges, didn’t he?

You’d think he’d learn his lesson, but instead… he started to turn over the different possibilities in his mind.

It was clear that Loki was able to use magic– and not just any old trick. That glow was indicative of something special, and the subtle use Loki had made of it before, without needing words or trinkets, indicated that he was actually manipulating seiðr– an old magic that not many, humans or creatures alike, had the skill, knowledge, or power to control.

And if Loki were simply a mage, he would not have to live away from the villages– because mages were honoured and respected for their ability to protect towns from monsters just as much as they were feared for their power. Then, perhaps Loki might be a faerie, for they were well known for their promises and truths and were often found living amongst nature, as Loki did by the stream. But Loki certainly didn’t seem like the fae that Tony had been told about– and he didn’t have the sharp teeth.

But the more Tony thought on it, the more he came to realise… it didn’t really matter.

Loki had helped him– had no doubt saved his life, when he didn’t have to do anything of the sort. In fact, Loki had _risked himself _by doing so, because anyone else from the village likely would have tried to slit Loki’s throat the moment they realised he was anything other than human. Loki _must_ have known that, and yet… he had offered Tony help regardless.

So—

“I’m not sure,” Tony admitted. “I think you must be something that I haven’t seen before. But…”

“But?” Loki asked, arching a brow.

“But I don’t think I mind,” Tony admitted. “You’re not going to hurt me, and you’ve only helped me so far. So, whatever you are– yeah, I don’t mind. Just so long as you don’t try to eat me or, turn me into a frog or anything else like that then, I think we’ll be good.”

“Well, I am also willing to help you recover from your injury, until you’re healed enough to return to the village,” Loki said brightly. “Providing, of course, that you are capable of sitting still for long enough.”

Tony snorted at that– and it seemed that was enough to break the awkwardness between them. Loki was still hesitant as he reached out with his hand– and he smiled when Tony straightened his leg again, putting his foot into Loki’s reach so that he could get back to… the glowy thing that he had been doing earlier. Though as it turned out, Tony didn’t have to wonder for much longer.

Loki spoke quietly as he worked, letting Tony know exactly what it was he was doing. He said that he did not want to try and take the boot off yet, and that he was only numbing the pain, and trying to reduce some of the swelling so that he could examine it better.

“Wish I could do more,” Loki said softly as he finally took his hands back away from Tony’s ankle. “But I am not familiar with… this aspect of human anatomy.”

He looked almost a little guilty as he said it, and even though the expression lasted for only a moment– Tony couldn’t help but think how very different he seemed from how he had been acting outside by the stream. He was softer, more open– less arrogant, more _real_.

It was as if by working out the truth, Tony had broken down a few of Loki’s walls.

And as Loki moved to find Tony a blanket so that he could continue to defrost by the fire and get some much-needed rest, Tony marvelled at the situation he had found himself in.

He was in the middle of the forest, during the night– with a creature who wasn’t _human_, with one of the monsters he had lived in fear of for as long as he could remember.

And somehow, remarkably… he felt _safe._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find the art for this chapter on tumblr [here!](https://rabentochter.tumblr.com/post/187622054509/for-in-the-dark-of-the-night-with)


	2. Pride be damned

When Tony woke up, there were a few seconds when he didn’t know where he was. It was a familiar sensation, known to anyone who has slept in a place they aren’t used to– a few seconds of panic, a few moments where his breath felt light in his throat and his heart beat a little too fast as his gaze flickered all around the room.

But, as always, it wasn’t long before his mind caught up to his instincts and the memory of what had happened came flooding back. He was safe, he was with someone who had brought him out of the—

Out of the _forest—_

Tony nearly jumped out of his skin as a bloodcurdling _howl_ split through the room, sounding a little muffled but clear enough that every one of Tony’s hairs stood on end, his skin tingling and his feet itching with the innate _need_ to _run_, even though his ankle was throbbing enough that he knew he wouldn’t be able to put any weight on it—

“Ssshh,” someone whispered– _Loki_, his mind provided. “You are safe. Remember, they cannot get in.”

Tony wondered how Loki coped, living in a place like this. Yes, Loki wasn’t human, but whatever he was– he clearly wasn’t like the creatures that roamed outside in the dark. He hadn’t wanted to be out in the forest either, which most likely meant that he was just as scared as Tony had been.

Although, Tony supposed that Loki must have been used to it. Not being human, there was no way he could live in any of the villages– even if he could pass as human like he was now, the risk of someone realising would always be there, and the consequences would be so very high.

Tony himself knew that if he learned there was something non-human in _his_ village, he would be right there at the forefront of the hunting party with Steve and Clint. He hadn’t forgotten what had happened to poor Rhodey after all, when he had gone out to the forest half an hour after sunrise only to run into an injured griffin, which had clearly been too weak to get back to its nest– but still strong enough to shatter Rhodey’s spine. Thankfully, Steve and Nat had been close enough that they were able to hear Rhodey’s screams, and get him away in time.

But… Loki wasn’t a griffin. He was a _person_ with thoughts and feelings, and even if he turned on Tony now, it wouldn’t be the same as taking down some mindless beast. Not in the slightest. And had he been asked yesterday, Tony would have agreed that he’d be willing to stake a vampire or slit a banshee’s throat without needing to stop and question it– but now… he didn’t think he would be able to. Not without wondering if maybe they weren’t so bad under the surface. If maybe they had some kindness in their hearts, and if _what_ they were didn’t make a difference to _who_.

And he knew it hadn’t been long– Tony didn’t even know what Loki was, but already, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to kill him. Not just because Loki was clever and intelligent, quick witted and – behind his smirk, anyway – rather kind. But because… Loki had helped him when so very few other people would have.

Even now, when Loki had done so much already, he was still looking to do more. When he was certain that Tony had calmed enough from his shock, Loki shifted to sit down at the end of the couch Tony had fallen asleep on, lifting Tony’s feet carefully so that there would be room.

Tony winced, but managed not to cry out as Loki jostled his ankle– and Loki apologised as he placed Tony’s injured foot back down on his lap, though he let the other fall to the cushion behind his back.

“Don’t worry about it,” Tony said through gritted teeth– then he winced again as Loki poked at the laces on his boots. “What are you doing?”

“Your boot stopped your foot from swelling too badly, and it held the bones in place,” Loki explained. “But it will need to come off.”

Tony blinked. He knew that Loki had done something to his foot the night before, but he hadn’t realised that Loki still wanted to do _more_. Actually, wouldn’t it have made more sense if—

“Why didn’t you do it when I was asleep?” he asked. “Then I wouldn’t have been moving around so much.”

Loki’s brows furrowed. “But then, I would not have been able to ask you for your permission,” he said. “I’m sure you would not have preferred me to simply heal you without asking?”

Well, actually, no. Tony certainly wouldn’t have. He’d had that happen to him before– he’d been injured in a confrontation with a dissatisfied customer (dissatisfied with the price, not his wares of course) and had woken afterward with an ungainly magnetic contraption strapped to his chest, which kept shrapnel from the resultant explosion from reaching his heart. And he’d since improved it, creating what he called a ‘reactor’ which was far less hindering than the original had been. So, yes, he could appreciate the fact that Loki had wanted to ask first.

But… there was one thing Tony couldn’t help but notice.

“Okay,” he said. “Except, you haven’t actually asked me yet.”

Loki paused, and tilted his head– as if he wasn’t sure that was true, or as if while he knew he needed to ask in _theory_, he… hadn’t thought about putting it into practice. But the look only lasted a moment before—

“Anthony,” he said– and the way he said it, curling the syllables around his tongue, almost made Tony not mind the full name. “May I please heal your ankle?”

“Well, how could I say no when you asked so politely?” Tony answered brightly.

Loki smiled at that, and then he turned back to Tony’s foot.

Tony prepared himself for the pain– he knew that his foot had to be wedged into his boot, swollen as far as the leather would allow. If Loki tried to tug at it, it would be excruciating– but even if he tried to cut the boot off, then he would still have to find a way to get the knife against the leather without cutting Tony’s skin, and even that would hurt like fucking hell.

But… Loki didn’t do either of those things.

Tony had seen Loki use his seiðr before he had fallen asleep, but it was still hard not to be surprised when he saw a bright green glow begin to twist around Loki’s fingers. Tony’s breathing turned a little shallow again, and Loki glanced up for a moment– but when Tony made no further protest, Loki went back to slowly dissolving Tony’s leather boot with his seiðr. No need to jostle, and no need to cause any more pain.

He still might be a little wary of seiðr, but as a first aid strategy? Tony thought he could get behind it.

As he worked, Loki explained that all he had done earlier was lessen Tony’s pain, to make it possible for him to sleep comfortably. Because Loki’s seiðr, apparently, _could_ heal broken bones, but he had not been lying when he said that he wasn’t familiar with healing ankles and feet.

“I’ve healed arms before in the past,” Loki said. “Hands, and fingers– I am rather experienced with those. I can also heal vertebrae—”

“Really?” Tony asked, interested. “Wow. I have a friend back home who would _love_ to meet you.”

“I doubt it,” Loki said, his smile tight.

_Oh_. Oops. Except—

“No, I actually think he’d like you,” Tony said firmly– because what he’d thought before was the truth, after all. Loki _wasn’t_ a monster, and he was sure that Rhodey, at least, would be able to see that as well. “Besides, I just meant—”

“I know what you meant,” Loki said, and his voice was gentle enough that Tony knew it was forgiven. And he went on to explain that while he wouldn’t be able to heal Tony’s foot entirely, he would enhance the natural healing ability of Tony’s body, so that he would simply heal faster.

It would mean that he would have to stay in Loki’s home for longer than a quick fix, but… it was infinitely better than being out there in the forest, and far more than Tony could ever have hoped for.

If Loki hadn’t found him, Tony would be dead by now. He knew that. His plan to try and follow the stream to somewhere he could climb out was tenuous at best, and on a broken ankle, trying to crab walk along the edge of the water? He would not have managed to get very far.

He owed Loki a lot, but… when Loki was done with his magic and he firmly – if a little clumsily – wrapped Tony’s foot in long strips of soft fabric, Tony tried to ask Loki if there was anything he could do in return. But Loki just shook his head.

“There has to be something,” Tony tried. “I mean, I’m pretty good weaponsmith– when I get home, I’ll be able to make you something. I mean, I suppose with magic at your disposal you don’t need blades to fight with, but—”

“I am rather proficient at fighting with knives,” Loki said, the corners of his mouth curling up. “However—”

“Oh, hey, hang on a second then,” Tony said, hardly even noticing that he was interrupting Loki as he stretched his hand down to his thigh. He had to wriggle a bit to be able to reach, and Loki was frowning, his hands still hovering over the bandage– and _honestly_, Tony was fine, there was no need for Loki to worry like that—

Then Tony _gasped_ as he pulled his knee up too quickly and his foot caught on Loki’s hand, pulling at his ankle and sending a lance of pain up his leg.

“_Anthony—”_

“I’m _fine, _just let me… one sec—” Tony had to twist a bit more to close his hands around the hilt of the knife that was still strapped his leg– and, to be honest, the fact that the knife was still there had to be an indication of _something_, though Tony wasn’t entirely sure what. But then when he pulled it out, between the movement, the awkward position and the precarious perch he almost lost his balance, and would have gone sprawling onto the floor if Loki hadn’t lunged forward and grabbed him by the waist.

Tony drew in a sharp breath as he realised that the new position put them almost nose to nose, with Tony propped up on one elbow and Loki leaning forward. They’d been that close before of course, when Loki was helping him walk– but this wasn’t standing side by side, holding on awkwardly while limping over pebbles. Loki was practically lying over him, and despite the relative coolness of Loki’s skin Tony couldn’t help but feel a little warm.

But– for goodness sake, what? Was Tony a blushing teenager unable to deal with a little bit of closeness?

Honestly. How _ridiculous_.

Tony cleared his throat, and held out the knife– and Loki took it before moving back to the position he’d been in before, Tony’s foot once more _safely_ perching on top of his lap.

Loki still seemed a little distracted for a moment– but only for a moment, because as soon as his gaze landed on the knife it sharpened with first surprise, and then delight.

“This is very fine craftsmanship,” Loki said, turning the knife over in his hands so that the blade gleamed in the flickering light from the fireplace. “It’s exquisite.”

“Thanks,” Tony said. He _knew_ his work was good, but that didn’t stop him from grinning every time someone praised it. He had great pride in what he did, and he wasn’t ashamed to admit that fact.

Clearly, Loki had good taste. It would seem that Tony’s idea was a good one.

“I can make you something similar, or more to your tastes if you want,” Tony said. “Just… throw that, or something, and I’ll be able to see the way that you—”

“I meant it when I said that I do not need any payment, Anthony,” Loki cut in. “That is not why I decided to help you.”

And, well. Tony was curious by nature. Loki should have noticed that by now– and he should have expected what was about to come.

“Then can I ask you something?” Tony asked. “Why _did_ you decide to help me?”

Loki glanced up from the knife then, and his head tilted as he seemed to consider something carefully. Tony watched him as well, waiting, and he couldn’t help but be struck by the way that the expression on Loki’s head and the movement of his neck made him look almost birdlike, pondering something that he had never seen before– something both dangerous, and yet intriguing. It was odd to think that between the two of them, Loki would be the one to look at _Tony _that way, when it was clearly _Loki_ who had the more interesting story.

The moment stretched, dragging long enough that Tony almost wondered whether he would get an answer at all. But, then—

“Ask me again, after you are fully healed,” Loki said, and his voice had a strange kind of quality to it, somewhere half way between amusement and regret. “Maybe then I’ll answer you.”

And Tony once again remembered what Loki had told him the night before—

_I do not lie_.

Tony couldn’t help but think on that for a moment, remembering the strange sensation he’d felt at Loki’s promises, and the way he had been – and still was – so sure that Loki had to be one of those creatures incapable of speaking anything that was not inherently true.

So Loki couldn’t have lied when he gave his answer, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t have a _choice_ in how to respond. And instead of trying to avoid the question, or outright stating that he would not answer– Loki had said that he’d be willing to answer Tony at a later date. And since he could not lie, that meant that he _would_ give an answer.

And it was that small assurance which had Tony nodding lightly.

“All right,” he said. “Then I’ll hold you to that.”

“And here I thought you were trying to think of ways to repay _me_,” Loki said, his tone near teasing– and Tony almost jumped as one of Loki’s hands came to rest on his shin– but the touch was light enough that it was easy to relax into it.

Tony leaned back into the couch again, his eyes falling closed with a sigh.

“Anthony?” Loki asked.

“Hmm?”

“There is… well.” This time Loki sounded _hesitant_, and Tony cracked his eyes open again to see that Loki appeared to be deliberating over what to say.

“What is it?” Tony asked.

“There is one thing that you can do for me,” Loki said. “Will you promise me that you will keep my home a secret? That you will not tell any other humans of where I live?”

A hard look entered Loki’s eyes that made Tony wonder what Loki would do if he said no– because he didn’t think that Loki would actually hurt him, not when he had promised otherwise… but he couldn’t help but doubt that he would make it back to the village in one piece.

But that didn’t matter anyway, because—

“I wasn’t going to,” Tony said. “I mean. Yeah, you might not be human, but that doesn’t really matter to me. Not when you saved my life, and you’re letting me park myself on your couch.”

Loki’s sigh was relieved enough that his whole body seemed to deflate with it, and by the time he met Tony’s gaze once more his expression was soft again.

But there was still something itching at Tony’s mind– something that needed to be answered. Because the mention of the couch reminded him of a thought he’d had the night before, a puzzle that he couldn’t work out– and he _hated_ leaving puzzles unsolved almost as much as he couldn’t leave a challenge unanswered.

“Hey Loki, how did you get all this in here, anyway?” Tony asked. “I mean, the couch couldn’t exactly have fit through your front door, right? _I_ hardly fit through.”

Loki smiled. “Oh, I am rather proficient with illusions,” he said. “I am _more_ than capable of making it so that there only _appears_ to be wall, when no wall is actually present. The furniture could just pass straight through. As could a werewolf, for that matter, so… well. Stay away from the east wall of the kitchen on the full moon, Anthony, that is all I’m going to say. It’s been messy in the past.” 

Tony stared, his eyes widening. “_What?” _he asked. “But, I thought– and you said you couldn’t– you said you can’t _lie_, and you said they can’t get in here, _Loki_, what do you—”

“It is a joke,” Loki said quickly, almost sounding _concerned_. “Words are easy enough to twist, and I thought– but my apologies, I haven’t had a companion in a while, my humour is a little—”

Tony couldn’t help it– he just burst out laughing, cracking into fully fledged guffaws that shook through his whole body and brought tears to his eyes.

“Ah, Loki,” he chuckled. “You know what? I think we’re going to get along just fine.”

And when Loki’s concern immediately brightened into a fierce grin, Tony couldn’t help but return it.

—//—

Tony was surprised by how quickly time seemed to pass, when he was talking to Loki. They spoke rapidly and jumped around between multiple topics, moving from one to the next with no need for slowing down or pausing to make sure that the other was keeping up. Tony was both impressed and delighted by Loki’s sharp intellect, finding the conversation to be something that could be _indulged_ in.

The books that lined the room came to make a whole lot of sense– even though Loki was isolated and unschooled, he had taught himself more than enough of the world that he was just as well, if not more educated than Tony was. And through the course of the conversation, Tony learned that Loki lived alone in the cave – something he was both saddened by and selfishly glad for, as it was only when Tony came to understand that Loki was by himself did he realise how difficult it might have been if there was another creature that called the cave home.

At first, Tony supposed that it did make sense– since there were very few humanoid monsters in the forest, and one couldn’t exactly hold a civilised conversation with a bunyip. But, you know. Knowing that Loki avoided humans and the other monsters in the forest was one thing. But learning that he had no one at all?

Well, it did make Tony wonder if that had possibly played a part in why Loki was so happy to help Tony out.

But Tony didn’t try to ask _why_ again, and Loki didn’t say– and it seemed like they would be able to continue on with the discussion in a more pleasant direction. But then Tony began to mention some of his own friends, started to tell Loki about Pepper and Rhodey and—

“I will get some food,” Loki said, standing abruptly from the couch and moving toward the opening in the wall that Tony had noticed before– the one he was sure led to other parts of the cave. It seemed that he had been right.

But, as Loki turned the corner and went out of view, Tony felt a little guilty. He should have guessed that Loki wouldn’t want to talk about humans, not when it was clear he held a certain level of fear when it came to them. He wasn’t wary around Tony, but… he’d first seen Tony flailing around in a stream. It had to be different, when talking about the others from the village.

As he glanced about the cave again, it suddenly feeling bigger now that he had been left alone, Tony shifted a little and pulled his arms tight around his middle. It wasn’t that he was cold, or scared– the cave truly was warm and cosy, and for some reason he still felt the odd surety that there wasn’t really anything that he needed to be worried about. But…

He just… he couldn’t help but wonder what his friends must be thinking.

Were they worried, looking out of their windows and wondering whether he would come back alive? Or had they waited by the gates until they were ordered closed at sunset? Had they asked for a few more minutes, waiting for him to come back out of the dark?

It hurt to think about, and he tried to push the thoughts away– because there was nothing he could do about it, not now. The only thing he could do was try to heal, so that he could get back to them all the sooner.

So, instead, Tony decided to worry about what Loki might count as a meal, since not knowing what he _was_ meant that the options were pretty much limitless. Tony didn’t _think_ that Loki was a vampire, so hopefully he wouldn’t be served a warm cup of blood. He hoped it wasn’t the raw meat that faeries and mermaids favoured, and he could only_ pray_ that Loki wasn’t the kind of creature that liked to eat bugs—

But, hey. Tony didn’t exactly have a whole heap of choice. He’d made his bed, so he might as well lay in it, right?

At least, that was what he told himself. It didn’t stop him from letting out a sigh of relief when Loki came back into the room with a few slices of thick bread and butter. Loki smiled at him wryly, as if he knew _exactly _what Tony had been thinking– and Tony was glad that Loki seemed to have cheered up a bit in the intervening minutes.

And as they sat beside each other again, chewing their way through the pieces of bread which were honestly _better_ than any that Tony could have bought back in his village, Tony found himself staring at his erstwhile host.

Loki huffed after a few minutes, and glanced up to the ceiling in obvious exasperation.

Tony just smiled. “Hey, Loki?” he asked.

“What is it, Anthony?”

“Did I say thanks yet?”

Loki turned on his seat, his expression curious. “For?”

“For saving me,” Tony said. “Because you did, you know? So… thank you.”

Loki relaxed more in response to that than he had the whole time that Tony had been in the cave. “You are welcome, Anthony.”

The rest of the day was almost… pleasant. Tony didn’t move off the couch, partially because he knew it would hurt but– also because Loki glared at him every time Tony even _thought_ about shifting. They entertained each other with stories, and with just getting to know each other– neither giving a whole lot away, but enjoying being able to tease out more and turning it into something of a game.

Tony _did_ actually ask about games, but it turned out that Loki didn’t have any– not even a stack of cards. _Why would he? _Loki had asked with a small shrug– he didn’t have anyone to play a game _with._ But he did seem to get that Tony needed _something_ to do with his hands, especially when Tony twisted the hem of his shirt into a torn mess with his fiddling fingers. Loki had stilled them with his own hands, which then warmed with the green glow of his seiðr– and when he let go, Tony’s torn shirt had been fixed.

He’d then fetched Tony a few old but not-well-used tools and some various things from around the cave– things that were not exactly building material, and Loki had appeared apologetic for that. But Tony just appreciated the thought behind the gesture, and before he even reached out to take the tools from Loki’s hands he already knew what he was going to do with them.

But, unfortunately– before he could make a start on his plan, nature decided to call in the most frustrating of ways.

He knew it was ridiculous and illogical, but Tony _tried_ to ignore it. Despite Loki’s seiðr having worked wonders for the pain in his foot, he was more than aware of the fact that he wouldn’t be able to put any weight on it at all. And. You know. He didn’t really want to have to ask for _help._

But as everyone knows, ignoring that certain need doesn’t make it go away, and when he found himself shifting in his seat he knew that he was going to have to say something. Pride be damned.

“Uh. Loki?”

Loki glanced up from the book he had pulled down from a shelf just after handing Tony the tools. “Yes?”

“I need to relieve myself,” Tony said– and he tilted up his chin as he said it, as if confidence was going to make this less of an issue, as if it was going to make this less traumatic for either of them.

Still, he half expected Loki to pull a face and tell him that he needed to find the privy on his own—

But it seemed that all of his fuss was completely and entirely unnecessary, because Loki merely placed his book to the side and moved to stand.

“Will you be able to use the privy, or shall I fetch a pan?”

Tony felt his cheeks flame. “Uh. I think I’ll be all right if you could just, give me a hand in getting there.”

Loki nodded, and then bent down to slip an arm around Tony’s waist so that he could help him up. Then as Tony leaned on him heavily, Loki helped him through the cave, past what must have been the kitchen and along a short corridor that sloped downward. There was a door set into the wall, which Loki pushed open– and they didn’t go inside, but Tony had time for a good look. There was a trickle of water running down the wall, from a small opening near the ceiling that was mostly blocked by a large rock. There was a small stone basin underneath, from which the water then drained out of another small crack down the bottom of the wall. There was also a large stone depression on the other side of the room, which Tony could only assume Loki would fill with buckets for a bath, though it seemed so large as to be impractical. Other than that, though, the system seemed ingenious, really, but– what Tony found most impressive was the way that the water was _steaming_.

“It comes from under the hill,” Loki explained. “You will wash your hands in here when you are done.”

Then Loki took Tony away from that room and through a door on the other side of the hall– which was where they found the privy. But before Tony went in, Loki placed the hand that wasn’t gripping Tony’s waist against the wall, and then he closed his eyes in concentration.

Tony wanted to ask, but it looked like Loki was focusing– and then after only a few moments, the wall began to shift under his hands– and part of the rock began to jut outward, a smooth ledge that was the perfect height for Tony to brace against, so that he could go into the privy and then the washroom without needing Loki’s further assistance.

“That should allow you to move around well enough,” Loki said as he opened his eyes– and then he waited for Tony to put his hands on the ledge and made sure that he was steady before he stepped away.

“Thanks,” Tony said– and he had a feeling that he would be saying that for a while.

The handrail definitely did help, though Tony was still rather slow at moving around, considering he had to slide his hands, brace, hop, then move his hands again– but he was able to manage. And after he had washed his hands and moved back through the cave toward the living room, he realised that Loki hadn’t just put the new ledge in the wall along the corridor to the washroom– he had done so along _all_ of the walls in the cave. Tony wondered how much energy such a thing would have taken, and then he wondered just… exactly what Loki was capable of.

But before he could chase up that line of thought, he almost ran into Loki himself– since the other man was waiting for him just around the corner.

Loki was smiling as he steadied Tony with hands on his upper arms, and Tony _might_ have leaned into him a little– because with the all the bracing and hopping, even such a short journey was rather exhausting, and it was nice not to have to hold his own weight up for a while. Plus, Loki was _comfortable_– and it was a few moments before Tony realised that Loki had been waiting so that he could show him another room.

It was decorated in a similar fashion to the living room, with dark gold carpet and a bed that was draped in black.

“You will sleep in here,” Loki said.

Tony frowned. He had to admit that he quite liked the idea. The bed was a strange shape, round rather than square, but it was _far_ larger than any he’d seen, and it looked incredibly comfy. But… a bed like that, when Tony knew that Loki never had any visitors? It _had_ to be Loki’s.

“Where are you going to sleep?”

“I will sleep by the fire,” Loki said. “It is something that I do often, anyway. I did consider building a fire in my bedroom.”

Somehow, that last sentence felt too short– and even though Loki’s voice was smooth as he said it, Tony couldn’t help but feel like something had been cut off the end, as if it were too choppy.

“You’re going to sleep in the living room?” Tony checked, frowning.

“Yes,” Loki confirmed– and that choppiness was gone from his voice, now. “In the living room. I will be perfectly comfortable, and you need your rest.”

Tony watched him for a little longer, but he knew there was no point in arguing. Actually, to be honest, he wasn’t entirely sure _why_ he had been trying to argue in the first place.

Well.

Other than the obvious question of—

“Why are you being so nice?” Tony blurted– and the moment the words were out of his mouth, he almost immediately regretted them. Such a question was undoubtedly rude, but– he just… he couldn’t _help_ it.

“Should I have a reason not to be?” Loki asked, a frown marring his brow.

And there were several things Tony could have said to that– he could have pointed out that they had only met less than half a day ago, that apart from their conversation they knew next to nothing about each other. He was still fairly certain that Loki was hiding something, something more than just _what_ he was, but… Tony didn’t think he had any right to ask about that. Not when Loki really was being so freaking _nice_.

Maybe Loki was just hiding his reason for helping.

Maybe it was something else.

But either way, it wasn’t that he was worried… Tony just wanted to _know_. Loki _had_ been kind to him– and Tony was more than willing to repay that kindness. Perhaps he would keep his eyes peeled, just in case, but. Loki had done nothing to deserve his scrutiny. He was just _curious_. Really.

But ‘just curious’ didn’t mean that he was capable of letting it go.

“I just mean… I’m a human,” Tony said. “And you don’t seem to like humans, much.”

“Humans… tend not to like _me_, much,” Loki said– and his voice was low, as if that was something that he didn’t particularly want to admit. “But you have not judged me for being _in_human. So why should it be any different the other way around?”

Tony only needed to consider that for half a moment before he smiled. “You’re not like the other monsters I’ve seen,” he said. “You’re not going to hurt me. I know that.”

Something strange entered Loki’s gaze then, something Tony couldn’t quite decipher– but it was fleeting, and gone in half a moment.

“You’re right,” Loki said. “I’m not.”

And you know what?

Tony believed him.

And when he lay down that night in the middle of Loki’s bed, under the sheets that felt far heavier against his skin than any he had used before– he fell into a deep and remarkably untroubled sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find the art for this chapter on tumblr [here.](https://rabentochter.tumblr.com/post/187918860339/art-for-the-second-chapter-of-in-the-dark-of-the)


	3. Defies all logic

As Tony’s time in the cave began to stretch into days, Loki never stopped being nice. But it _did_ stop being weird, and Tony grew more and more comfortable in this strange new place that he’d fallen into.

The railings that Loki had placed along the walls of the cave were useful when Tony wanted to move around, but the shape of the main room meant that Loki had to help him whenever he wanted to move to the couch, usually with an arm looped around Tony’s waist. Tony felt a little guilty about needing to ask Loki to help him every time he needed to do _anything_, but… Loki didn’t seem to mind. Thankfully, though, it was just the living room. In the kitchen, a few well-placed chairs for Tony to lean upon meant that he could move from the door to the pantry to the benches to the table without much difficulty– though carrying anything and moving around _was_ something he couldn’t yet achieve. But it meant that if Loki was ouside, Tony was pretty much stuck with eating while balancing on one foot inside the pantry door.

Tony would be lying if he said that the first time Loki left the cave two days after Tony’s arrival was a little nerve-wracking. It wasn’t that he was concerned Loki’s enchantments wouldn’t hold, he just… no, okay, so maybe he _was_ a _little_ concerned about that. If only because that was easier to admit than the fact that most of his nervousness stemmed from worry for Loki out in the forest alone.

And Tony _knew_ that was such a stupid thing to worry over, because Loki lived here alone, had for years and years. But that didn’t stop him from smiling and breathing a sigh of relief when Loki came back inside after only an hour or two with a brace of rabbits to show for his efforts– even if Tony hid it with a quip about waiting around like a housewife.

To which, of course, Loki had responded with a dry comment about the state of the floor—

And, okay. Maybe there _were_ bits of wood shavings scattered all over Loki’s carpet, but. Still.

Rude.

In all honesty though, Tony just… he couldn’t get over how amazingly impossible Loki was– or maybe, maybe those descriptors should have been the other way around. But the more Tony learned about the cave – and about Loki himself – the more he came to realise just how _easily_ Loki really could pass for a human. He said that it would be a risk to live near one of the villages, but… surely, if living entirely alone in a forest full of monsters was the only other option, then _surely_ a little bit of risk would be worth it?

No, it seemed more likely that Loki actually enjoyed his solitude. The cave was kept neat despite the fact that Loki could never expect a visitor, and it was full of enough evidence of Loki keeping himself occupied that it was clear he had no intention of ever changing his living situation. And yet, he also seemed to like having Tony around as well, if the soft smiles he wore when their eyes met were any indication.

And… you know what? Tony liked _being _there. It was becoming easier to admit with every passing day, with every moment spent enjoying conversations with Loki, and with how _easy_ it was to melt into Loki’s arms every time he held Tony close– even if it was only to help him get to the bathroom.

It was… pretty perfect, actually, and had it not been for the concern for how his friends back home were doing that continued to gnaw at Tony’s heart – and the continuing ache in his ankle – he would have been entirely happy to stay for a long while yet.

Well.

Almost.

There _was_ one problem that Tony was stuck with, one little thing that scratched and scratched at him, getting worse and worse and _worse_ the longer he was in the cave.

Because… as great as Loki was, Tony was freaking _bored._

Yeah, he loved speaking with Loki. He loved spending time with him, and he _loved_ getting to know him better. But… there was nothing to _do_.

He could tell Loki was getting a little antsy as well, and he was able to work out that Loki didn’t normally stay still this long. Even when Loki went out to get them food, he was always back quickly, as if he sensed that Tony worried. Tony also couldn’t help but wonder if– well, he obviously _knew_ that Loki was hiding something, but. He couldn’t help but wonder if that _something_ was made harder by being stuck inside with Tony, if the concealing of the secret was more stress on Loki than Tony knew.

Because just as Tony had thought before– Loki really did look like a human, he _ate_ like a human, and apart from a few mannerisms, the slight hiss to his speech, and the way that he was just unfamiliar with human culture, he seemed to act like a human. But, there were still moments– _moments_ when Tony was reminded of exactly where he was, and just the kind of danger that he was _actually_ in. But… whenever Loki smiled at him, or whenever they were sat beside each other on the couch– whenever Loki wrapped an arm around his waist to help him across a room, his touch soft and gentle despite his obvious strength… well, it still felt easy, it still felt safe. Even when the too-bright flash of Loki’s green eyes in the firelight and the sound of bloodthirsty howls outside the walls were enough to cause Tony’s heart to race, Loki was… well, he was still Tony’s _friend_. They fit together like Tony hadn’t with anyone else, and every moment he was with Loki was always a moment well spent.

But that still didn’t stop Tony from being as bored as a naga in a shoe store.

However. Every problem always has its solution, and Tony was pretty sure that he had been able to come up with one to combat the dreary _sameness_ of days in the cave.

When Loki had offered Tony some tools and some bits and pieces from the cave, he had immediately begun to implement his plan. It wasn’t particularly easy– he didn’t exactly have his workshop at his disposal. But Loki did his best to be accommodating, and Tony didn’t feel _too_ bad asking Loki to bring back a few fallen branches when he went outside.

Wood was definitely not Tony’s forte, but he gave it his best try– and besides, he knew _how_ to carve. He’d made a few blades and tools with wooden handles in the past, so it wasn’t the act itself that was unfamiliar. Just the shapes.

Thankfully, though, he only needed to create half of what he wanted out of the wood. The rest, he formed with metal pulled from objects that Loki had stashed around the cave– an old brass vase, a spare ash shovel, and a big serving spoon that Tony hoped Loki actually _wouldn’t_ miss, and hadn’t just given to Tony because he’d seen him eyeing it at dinner. And because he didn’t have his forge, he was forced to just reshape the pieces by force but– metal was metal, and that part was easy.

He could see Loki watching him sometimes as he worked, curiosity in his gaze as his eyes traced the movement of Tony’s fingers. But after the first time he asked what Tony was making an received only a smirk in reply, Loki didn’t try to ask again. Which, actually… was something that Tony rather appreciated.

And _then_, after making a mostly flat board out of the seat of a chair he managed to break in one particularly embarrassing attempt to cross the kitchen that he would rather not mention in detail, Tony ‘borrowed’ some of Loki’s inks to create the pattern he wanted on the top surface of it.

The result wasn’t exactly his best work, and it was _far_ from perfect, but… Tony thought that it would do the job.

He knew that it would be difficult to set it all up by himself, but he wanted it to be a surprise, even if Loki had watched him make it. So, Tony got out of bed extra early one morning, and– well, it was a bit of struggle. But he’d shoved all the pieces into the pockets of the too-big coat that Loki had let him borrow, and held the board awkwardly under his arm so that he could bring everything to the kitchen table by himself. Then he grinned at his handiwork before making his way back to bed.

Or, well. He _meant_ to go back to bed, but he– well, maybe he was just tired. He didn’t even really think as he shuffled his way past the entrance to the bedroom and moved toward the main living area.

He just. He wanted to see Loki. That was all.

When he turned the corner, he stepped into a room bathed in dim orange light, the fire having burned low. His eyes were immediately drawn to the rug before the embers, where—

His eyes widened, because the silhouette upon the rug denoted a figure _far_ larger than Tony had been expecting, something with smooth lines and a slight gleam that reflected light of the fire—

Then Tony blinked, and all he could see was the silhouette of Loki sitting up from the rug, holding a blanket around his shoulders and running a hand through his hair as he yawned.

“Anthony?” Loki groaned.

And, right. The shape Tony had seen was _probably_ just Loki stretching under the blanket, right?

(He… he knew that was unlikely. But he’d decided it didn’t matter, hadn’t he?)

“Sorry,” Tony winced. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“Do you need something?” Loki asked, sounding a little bit more alert, but– still sleepy enough that Tony found he didn’t even hesitate to call Loki _adorable_.

“No,” he admitted. “I just… well, I have something I wanted to show you, but I really didn’t mean to wake you. I wanted to just…” Tony trailed off, not quite wanting to admit that he didn’t _have_ a good reason to be coming in to stare at Loki early enough in the morning that the sun probably had not even risen yet. Not, that Tony had any way of knowing what the sun was doing, since he hadn’t seen it in days.

“I’m awake now,” Loki sighed, getting up– and as he raised his hands over his head to stretch his spine, Tony’s eyes _might_ have lingered for just a little longer than was appropriate.

He cleared his throat. “All right, then,” he said. “It’s, uh. Kitchen.”

And maybe he was being a little bit ridiculous, but, he just– well, like before, he just couldn’t help it, finding himself _doing_ before he’d even fully contemplated the action, holding one arm out from his waist in obvious invitation. But even in the dim lighting Tony could see the corners of Loki’s lips turn up in a smile that Tony matched as Loki’s arm curled around his waist.

Yeah, Tony could have used the railings, but… well, this was faster, wasn’t it? And he didn’t mind the feel of Loki holding him close. It was _nice,_ and Tony almost felt a little disappointed when Loki let him go once he had a firm grip on the back of one of the kitchen chairs.

Only almost, because– the slight widening of Loki’s green eyes was a sight he had been _waiting_ to see.

“What… is this?” Loki asked.

“It’s a game,” Tony said, reaching out to shift one of the pieces between his fingers. “It’s called chess. Usually, the pieces would look a little different to this, but. I think we can work with it.”

“A game,” Loki said, his green gaze flicking from the board to meet Tony’s. “With two players?”

“Well, yeah.” Tony raised a hand to rub at the back of his neck– and then quickly placed it back on the chair he had been leaning on, the movement of his nervous habit having put too much strain on his still injured foot. “I, uh. I thought that maybe it would be something for us to do, while we wait for my stupid ankle to heal. Since, you’re stuck in here with me, I thought this was the least that I could do.”

Loki picked up the piece that Tony had moved earlier– a small silver cylinder, quite clearly beaten into shape, the edges a little uneven and parts of the top dented firmly enough into battlements so that it was almost recognisable as a castle tower.

“You made this?” Loki whispered.

“Yeah. I, uh. I really hope you didn’t want that spoon back—”

“How do we play?” Somehow, Loki looked almost as ridiculous as Tony felt. His hair was still messy from sleep, he was clearly still tired and he hadn’t changed out of his nightshirt. But Loki’s expression was far more excited than Tony would have warranted for a simple, thrown-together chess set– and his smile was infectious.

“Well,” Tony started, sitting down on the chair and gesturing for Loki to do the same. “First of all, we need to decide who’s going to use which pieces. Do you want to be metal, or wood?”

What followed was a series of battles that could have constituted a war, interspersed only with short breaks for breakfast and changing into proper clothes. Loki picked up the rules just as quickly as Tony expected he would, and by mid-morning their battling had become rather fierce—

And Tony was left to try some rather underhanded tactics.

“You know,” Tony said as he moved his queen a couple of squares to the right. “You never actually answered my question.”

“Which question?” Loki asked, his voice almost absent as he stared down at the board in complete and utter concentration. Clearly, Tony needed to try harder.

“The one about the furniture,” Tony replied– and Loki coughed out a laugh. “Hey,” Tony said indignantly, “It’s a serious question okay, it’s been bugging me—”

“Of all the things in this cave, and all the things you know about me,” Loki started, his eyes flashing up to meet Tony’s– “It’s really the furniture that has you the most worried?”

“It just defies all logic,” Tony whined. “What, did you– magic it out of nothing, or—”

“No,” Loki replied– and then he reached out to move one of the wooden knights, placing it on the board with care. “I bought it.”

“You… _from where?”_

Loki rolled his eyes. “Anthony, when you first saw me, did you think that I was a monster?”

“You know I didn’t,” Tony said, trying not to let the embarrassment at that fact show. _Anyone_ would have thought Loki was human at first glance. That was a totally easy mistake to make. Right?

“Then why do you not think that I would be able to go into a town without being murdered?” Loki asked.

“I just… wouldn’t have thought that you risk it, that’s all,” Tony said, though he knew the fumbling was obvious. He just– he’d never actually thought of it that way, okay?

“I wouldn’t risk going to any of the villages near the forest, as they are more wary,” Loki said– and there was that hardness forming in his gaze again, that sharp edge that suggested he’d suffered through something that stopped him from making such a mistake. “But the ones further out, they are not quite so on their guard. The larger towns especially, and certainly those along the trading routes– they are not so suspicious about an unfamiliar face. I bought my furniture from them, brought it here, and—”

“But how did you _get_ it here?” Tony asked– and to be honest, he possibly did not pay as much attention to the placement of his rook as he should have. “There’s no way you brought a wagon down the ravine and through the waterfall—”

“The ravine flattens out further down the stream,” Loki said. “But, no. I did not.”

“Then how?” Tony asked, his voice actually slipping into a whine. “And how did you get it through the crevice and into the cave? There’s no way the couch and the table would have fit, let alone your _bed._ Just… _how?”_

Loki actually _snorted_ at that. “Anthony,” he said. “You _know_ that I have seiðr.”

Oh. _Ooooh._ Tony had heard of mages that were capable of such feats, he just… hadn’t considered that Loki would have used his magic to, what? Shrink the couch until it could fit into his pocket? But before he could make another comment—

“Check mate,” Loki said as he shifted his bishop– and then he reached out to knock Tony’s king over with a flick of his fingers.

“Hey, the loser is the one who does that,” Tony said, pushing Loki’s hand away– and trying to ignore the way the feel of Loki’s skin on his caused a shiver to run up his arm. “I told you that last time.”

“But then I would _never_ have the honour of knocking over a king,” Loki said, his tone _dripping _with innocence.

Tony narrowed his eyes. “That sounds like a challenge.”

“It is not my fault that you are atrocious at this game—”

“You _distracted_ me—”

“Did I?” Loki asked. He leaned forward slightly over the board, his eyes darkening and his lips curling in a way that made Tony’s breath catch. “Are you truly so easssily distracted, Anthony?”

“Uh– no?” Tony said– but when Loki’s smirk widened slightly, Tony found the urge to focus somewhere amongst the motivation to prove Loki wrong. “I would have you know that I am _more_ than capable of utterly _destroying_ you in this game.”

“You want to destroy me?” Loki asked, his voice low. “I honestly look forward to seeing you try.”

Now that– _that_ was definitely a challenge, and Tony’s heart was beating hard enough that he could _feel_ it as he curled his fingers around his fallen king and slammed it back onto place upon the rough wooden board.

“All right then,” he said. “Bring it on, Beowulf.”

It really was just so _easy_, spending time with Loki.

And as the days continued to pass, as Loki’s smirks turned to soft smiles, Tony started to want to feel the cool press of Loki’s body against his own more and more. Loki was just… addicting. His skin was cool enough to almost be cold, something that Tony now recognised was likely due to his inhuman nature– but it didn’t bother Tony as much as it probably should. It felt like they just gravitated toward each other, like there was something tugging Tony a little closer toward Loki’s embrace– something that Tony couldn’t quite explain.

And by Tony’s fourth evening in the cave, he felt so utterly comfortable with Loki in a way that he wasn’t sure he ever had with anyone else. They were both together on the couch, with Tony’s foot stretched out on a chair in front of him so that they could sit side by side rather than Loki having to perch in front of Tony’s leg. Tony was fiddling with a few odd bits and pieces he had picked up from around the cave, knickknacks that Loki hadn’t minded him using to try and occupy his mind as he twisted the metal together, and Loki was reading a book. The feel of metal under his fingertips and the soft sound of turning pages was enough to lull Tony’s mind into the kind of calm that he didn’t often reach, and he found himself leaning into Loki’s side. The moment he realised, he half wondered if he should pull back away—

Except… that it seemed like Loki was leaning into his side as well, almost _curling_ nearer as if he too wanted them to be as close together as they possibly could be.

But, it was probably just for the warmth, right? If Loki _was_ something cold blooded – a possibility no matter how strange it might seem – then he would no doubt enjoy the warmth of a human body.

Okay. No, that was slightly weird to think about—

And Tony didn’t really want to think about what Loki might be, anyway. All that mattered was that he was _Loki_– and Tony truly was enjoying his time with him—

So much so that, when he found he was able to lean weight on his foot as Loki helped him into the kitchen for breakfast a few days later, he almost didn’t want to give voice to the words that he _knew_ he had to say.

He debated their necessity all while Loki helped him settle into his chair– help that was not truly needed, but which Tony accepted because… well, he didn’t have the excuse of being cold blooded, but. He would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy the feel of Loki’s arm curled around his waist, firm and secure against the leather coat in a way that still made Tony feel safe.

Which, really, was the entire problem here– because Tony _shouldn’t_ want to stay with Loki. He really, really shouldn’t. When Clint had dared him to go into the forest, they’d all thought that he would be out for at _most_ an hour. Tony hadn’t even taken a pack with him, and he had long since passed the point of knowing that his friends must be worried sick– if they hadn’t already held his funeral, that is.

After all, no one comes back out of the forest alive, not after spending a night in the trees.

He _had_ to go home, because he had to reassure his friends that he was alive and well, regardless of how much he had come to enjoy Loki’s company.

And besides, it wasn’t like he had to say goodbye forever. Loki had found him by the stream before the sun had begun to sink below the horizon, which meant that whatever it was that kept the other monsters from attacking during the day clearly did not affect him. So… Tony would be able to see Loki again. They could still be friends– maybe Tony would even be able to spend a night in the cave, so long as he assured his friends that he would be all right first.

It wasn’t as if this was a goodbye.

So he pushed the words past his lips, the sound of them far firmer and more confident than the small little ache that was pushing hard against the inside of his ribcage.

“I think I could go home today.”

Loki paused, his spine still bent from where he had been helping Tony into his seat, and their faces were close enough when he turned that Tony could feel Loki’s cool breath over his cheek.

“You want to go back to the village?” Loki asked– and his voice was light, but Tony could see the reluctance in the tight set of his jaw. It would seem that Loki didn’t really want Tony to go, either.

“Yes,” Tony said. “I mean, I’ve been gone for days, and no one ever survives this long out in the forest. My friends must be worried sick.”

“Your human friends,” Loki whispered, sinking down into his own chair. And this time, he sounded almost wistful.

“Well, yeah,” Tony said. “I mean. You’re my only _non_ human friend, after all.”

He’d meant it as a compliment. He’d meant to say that Loki was different from any other monster, that he was– he was _special_. That, for some reason, Tony felt more at ease with Loki than he did with any of his friends back home. Even Rhodey and Pepper. But… there was something dark in Loki’s eyes, something shadowed that had filtered in at the end of Tony’s sentence. Something that made Tony’s heart ache, and made him want to reach out and pull Loki into a hug.

Loki a looked more than a little tense, though, and Tony wasn’t entirely convinced that a hug would be welcome in that moment. So, instead, he just reached out and– lay his hand over Loki’s, where it was resting in a tight fist on top of the table.

“Hey,” Tony said, his voice gentle. “You know that I’d be able to come back, right? You know I’m not just going to leave and forget about you.”

Loki averted his gaze, as if he didn’t believe it. “I want you to be safe,” he said. “We are still close to the full moon.”

Tony sighed. He knew that Loki was just worried– inside the cave, Tony couldn’t tell whether it was night or day, but he could count how many times he had slept and he knew that he had to have been with Loki for at _least_ a week– if not longer, given how little he normally slept when he was at home, and that he had only been going to bed during his time in the cave when he had felt tired. It had been three days before the full moon when he had arrived, and so by his count, it was now a minimum of five days _after_ it. But, yes, he _did_ know that Loki was likely worried. Tony would have to go to the village alone so that Loki would be safe, and if he did happen across something dangerous in the forest, he would not even be able to run away.

But… that was just Loki worrying. Loki had left the cave plenty of times to collect food and wood for them, and he had been _fine_. Tony had been concerned, yeah, but Loki had come home without a scratch every time.

And besides—

“I’d have to go during the day anyway, even if it weren’t dangerous otherwise,” Tony pointed out. “The gates are locked shut at sunset, and they’re only opened at sunrise. That’s the only way to be sure that everyone inside will remain safe. So. I’ll be fine.”

“I will not take you all the way to the village,” Loki said, speaking through gritted teeth, his hand tense under Tony’s. “And if I cannot get close, then you will have to walk on your own. It would be better to wait until you are completely healed.”

“I’m getting better, and I will be able to walk for a bit. If you can just get me close, then I’ll be okay from there,” Tony said. “I know that you don’t mind going out into the forest during the day—”

“I will not be able to go near the village walls,” Loki interrupted. “You know exactly what they will do to me.”

Tony sighed then– because yeah, he _did_ know.

He’d thought it himself, hadn’t he? When he’d realised that Loki wasn’t human, he’d understood that Loki was risking his life just by _helping_ Tony.

But… Loki still wasn’t meeting Tony’s gaze, which was _odd_ for him. Because, it couldn’t be that Loki was lying. Loki _didn’t_. Which meant, that maybe, there was just something a little more here than there appeared to be on the surface.

Tony’s heart was racing, and he felt like he couldn’t breathe, like the air was too heavily laden with tension and anticipation for his lungs to be able to draw it in. Because if this was what he thought it was, if Loki had begun to feel as he did…

“Loki,” Tony whispered, his voice thick. “You know that I will be fine. But… is there some other reason why you don’t want me to go?”

Loki’s breath left him in a low gush, and something lurched in Tony’s gut as he realised that he _must_ be right.

Then, Loki’s fingers finally uncurled from the tight fist they had been stuck in, and he turned his hand so that their fingers entwined together. He looked as if he might have been trying to say something but the words had caught in his throat– but, Tony thought he might have known what they were anyway. And so he leaned forward just slightly over the table, so very slowly that it might as well have been unconscious. Loki’s lips parted as he shifted forward too, his head tilting slightly to the side and his eyes fluttering closed—

And when their lips touched, Tony thought it was one of the sweetest moments of his life.

It wasn’t a deep kiss, and nor was it a long one– it was just gentle, tender, _perfect_. There was nothing about it that Tony would have changed, and even as they parted his free hand came up to take hold of the lapels of Loki’s clothes, not wanting the moment to end.

“Anthony,” Loki breathed, holding Tony’s gaze– but he didn’t look like he was pleading. His green eyes were hypnotic, and in that moment, Tony found it hard to think of anything other than _Loki_.

“Yes?” he asked, a smile tugging at lips that still felt warm from the kiss.

Loki’s voice was a low, whispered hiss. “_Ssstay.”_

And maybe, there was nothing in the world that Tony wanted more—

But then he felt the charm he wore around his wrist go warm, and he _tore_ himself away, the hand on Loki’s chest _shoving_ hard enough that Tony’s chair screeched against the kitchen floor.

“Did you just try to _hypnotise_ me?” He asked, his voice harsh with a mix of horror and pure _betrayal _as his heart began to crack in two.

Loki’s eyes widened. “How did you—”

“I have a charm against that kind of thing, I’m not an _idiot,”_ Tony snarled, his rage fuelled by _pain_. “You– I thought you swore no harm would come to me, but you– you _lied—” _

“I didn’t lie,” Loki said, his voice cracking– but Tony refused to let that touch him. “I didn’t _mean—”_

“I thought you were different from the other monsters,” Tony said, slowly backing away– ignoring the throbbing ache in his ankle in favour of retreat. “I thought you were kind. God, I was so _stupid_—”

“No,” Loki said, stumbling up from his chair, his hands outstretched– and Tony only stumbled further back. “No, Anthony, I’m sso sssorry, I, I didn’t mean– I shouldn’t have done it, I know that I shouldn’t have, but I can’t let you go—”

“Of course,” Tony spat. “So I’m a prisoner—”

“That is not what I—”

“You know, I thought it didn’t matter what you were,” Tony cut in. “I just thought you were my _friend_. But if I’d known that you could hypnotise, maybe I would have– maybe—” He cut himself off, realising the likelihood that everything he’d felt, everything that had happened… “Oh, _god_,” he choked. “Oh– you, you’ve been _manipulating_ me, you’ve been– trying to hypnotise me this whole time, you— and I thought— I _kissed you— _but it’s all just been—”

“No,” Loki tried again, his voice little more than a broken cry—

But Tony was well beyond wanting to listen to him, not when it felt like the whole world was crashing down upon his soul.

“Oh, god,” Tony whispered, backing away further, his heart hammering hard in his chest. “You– you’re_–_ you really are a _monster.”_

Loki’s flinch was violent, but Tony couldn’t bring himself to care.

If there was one thing he knew about the creatures of the forest, it was that they were deadly_,_ they were vicious, and they were _cruel_. He should have known better– he _did_ know better. He’d seen what had happened to Rhodey, he’d seen the consequences of venturing too deep among the trees.

And Tony, like an _idiot_, had got caught up in his apparent luck and Loki’s fucking _kindness_.

He still didn’t know what kind of monster Loki was, but that _still_ didn’t matter. He’d been lost in whatever allure Loki held, and Loki’s _powers_ had made Tony wilfully blind to the danger he’d been in. But now his eyes were opened– now he knew the truth.

He didn’t have his knife on him– he didn’t even know where he’d left it, having felt comfortable enough with Loki that he didn’t think he’d needed it anymore. So he just held up his hands, trying to ward Loki away as he backed out of the kitchen, almost tripping over the too-long coat and his ankle _screaming_ but– the fear and the adrenaline kept him on his feet.

“Anthony _please,”_ the _monster_ said, almost sounding like he was begging, almost looking like he was _sorry_. “I swore no harm would come to you, and I meant it. I won’t hurt you—”

“The hell you won’t,” Tony snarled. “Stay _away_ from me!”

Without another thought, without another scrap of hesitation, Tony backed into the living room, pushed his way through the crevice in the wall and out toward the waterfall—

Then Tony ran out between the twisted trees of the forest, and he didn’t look back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find the art for this chapter on tumblr [here.](https://rabentochter.tumblr.com/post/188212961699/art-for-the-third-chapter-of-in-the-dark-of-the)


	4. Pinpricks of light

When Tony stepped back through the village gates, it almost didn’t feel real.

The sun was still high, and the sky was a radiant, cloudless blue, far too bright for the storm that was raging inside Tony’s mind. Thankfully, Loki’s cave truly wasn’t too far from the village at all, and it had not taken him long to make the trip through the forest– even though it _felt_ like it had taken an age.

It was almost as if… when he had fallen down that ravine over a week before, he had taken a step through a portal that had sent him plummeting into another place, where the colours were sharper and everything danced with the brilliance of seiðr. Whether it was back in time to when the world was more magical and less dreary, or whether it was into another world entirely he couldn’t say– only that his tenure in Loki’s cave seemed like something out of a dream. And either way, even now walking on aching feet through the gates of the village, back into the place that he called his _home_, it seemed a little greyer than it had before.

It was worrying, and– he hoped that it was just a result of whatever allure Loki had held over him, and that it would pass with time.

Everything that had happened with Loki was over, now– it had come to a decisive end. Tony could put it behind him—

And he would never step into the forest again.

Tony’s village was small, and word travelled fast– and he had only made it down a single street before he heard someone call out his name. He turned just in time to receive an armful of Pepper Potts, her strawberry hair filling his nose as she threw herself around him.

“_Tony,”_ she gasped, her face buried into Tony’s shoulder and her hands running down his sides before she leaned back to cup his face. “You’re here, you’re all right!”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Tony said– though despite the physical truth of it, the words still felt like a lie. “Why are you crying? Surely you knew I wouldn’t let the forest get the better of me.”

He was going for a joke, but her laugh was short and pained.

“You idiot,” she gasped, shoving at his chest– but then her hands just curled in his shirt once more. “Why did you go into the forest? Why didn’t you come back? You’re not stupid, you should have _known better—_”

“Pep—”

“Don’t you _Pep_ me,” she snapped. “You could have _died—”_

“But I didn’t,” Tony shrugged. “And besides, it was hardly my fault. Clint _dared _me—”

“Oh, I’ve already spoken to Clint,” Pepper said darkly. “And regardless, you should have known better.”

And maybe, Tony might have argued that point if he’d been in a different mood. But his head was a mess and there was an ache in his chest that he didn’t want to _think_ about. To be honest, he’d almost forgotten about Clint and his stupid dare, because his heart had been broken far more recently.

And Pepper’s words… well, they hit a nerve a little left of where she had been aiming, and when he answered, his mind was on something else entirely.

“Yeah,” he sighed. “I _should_ have known better.”

Something in Pepper’s expression crumpled at that. Tony wondered what his voice sounded like– what he _looked_ like. He must have seemed pretty wretched, for her to let go of her bite just like that.

“Come on, Tony,” she said, her tone far gentler than it had been before. “The others have all been worried. We all thought you weren’t coming back. Come with me, let’s go and see them.”

Tony winced. He knew that Pepper was probably trying to cheer him up, and he knew she was right. It really had been far too long, and they would definitely be wanting to see him, but… despite the fact that he hadn’t seen them for days, despite the fact that he could picture how worried they’d all been, Tony couldn’t think of anything he wanted _less_ in that moment than spending time with people. Especially people who would prod and poke him for details on how he had managed to survive a full week in the forest, a feat that was entirely unheard of.

And trying to think up a story as to how he had managed to survive so long did not sound like a whole lot of fun, when all he wanted to do was to curl up on his bed and try to forget.

“Actually, Pep,” Tony said, averting his gaze. “I’m feeling a little rough, and I think that I’m going to just head home.”

“Should we go to the physician?” Pepper asked, her brow creasing into a frown—

“No,” Tony groaned. “No, I’m– I’m not hurt. I’m just tired. I think I just need a rest. Tell the others that I’m all right, and I’ll speak to them all tomorrow.”

Pepper still looked concerned, but her worry seemed mostly to shift into understanding and compassion. She walked him to his house, which Tony _was_ grateful for, if only because he could see people staring, and Pepper’s sharp glare kept them away.

But when they reached his door, he did not invite her in, instead turning to face her in the doorway.

“I am sorry for worrying you,” he said.

She eyed him oddly for a moment. “I’m just glad that you’re all right,” she said. “Do you want someone to come over in the morning?”

Tony was about to say no, but… the word died on the tip of his tongue. He didn’t want to have to talk, he didn’t want to have to– but he also didn’t really…

He didn’t know.

But… while everything looked a little grey in the village, he _was_ glad to see Pepper. So—

“Yeah,” he said. “You, or Rhodey.”

“Okay,” Pepper said. Then she smiled, and it didn’t look quite right, but– it made things a little bit better. “Then I’ll see you tomorrow, Tony. Get some rest.”

Tony shut the door before she was properly gone, half afraid that he would change his own mind. That left him in the entryway of his house, standing in the living room with his back to the door.

The room was a little musty, the result of being closed up and unused for far too long. And despite the fact that his house was far smaller than the cave he had been living in for the past few days, everything just seemed so _empty_.

Shaking his head, Tony limped straight through the room and into the bedroom, falling on top of his small, rectangular mattress with a groan that was halfway between pained and weary. He tried to ignore the lump in his throat and the sting of tears in his eyes as he curled up on his side, pulling the lapels of his coat further around him, burying into the soft leather and taking comfort from it—

The only comfort he could find as his exhausted eyes slipped closed and he fell into a restless sleep.

—//—

The following morning, Tony felt like complete _shit_.

He woke up in a bed that was too hard and too small, his ankle aching worse than it had in days. Everything just felt _heavy_, the world harsher than it needed to be– because yeah, it really did seem like he had spent a while in a completely different world, but now harsh reality was crashing back down and he was too tired to try and catch up.

Something between a groan and a whine pulled from his throat, and he buried back down into the coat that was wrapped around him—

And then he felt himself freeze, his fingers going limp against the leather as he realised—

It was _Loki’s _coat.

Tony was still wearing Loki’s coat, the scent of it somehow both comforting and fucking _sickening_ all at the same time. He didn’t _want_ to find comfort from _Loki,_ from the person who had tried to make him _stay_ against his will.

The funny thing was… Tony actually might have been _willing_ to stay, if it wasn’t for the hypnosis. He really had loved spending time with Loki, but. He would _never_ be happy with a person who tried to manipulate his mind, who tried to mould him into something that he wasn’t.

And the thought of how that could have been going on for quite a while poisoned all the good memories of the cave that Tony had.

Tony had been attracted to Loki from that first moment, but every second he’d spent in Loki’s presence, he’d just seen more and more that he liked. And he didn’t know how much of that was a physical allure– there were plenty of creatures which possessed such a power. And that kind of power wouldn’t have been dissuaded by Tony’s charm at all.

Tony never would have even noticed, and if Loki had just continued as he had been, and hadn’t tried hypnosis as a last, desperate resort…

Well, even now, even _knowing, _Tony missed Loki with an ache in his chest, every beat of his heart a yearning desire to go back into the forest, to find Loki and to ask him whether he _meant_ it, because…

The person Tony had come to know over those days in the cave was not the monster who had tried to break though Tony’s will with hypnosis.

But see, Tony couldn’t even trust _that._ Because how was he to know if the persona Loki had put forward was even real? How did he know that Loki even truly _looked_ the way that Tony had seen him? Loki had fucking outright _admitted_ that he was skilled with illusions.

Or perhaps, there was a chance. A small, _tiny_ chance that Loki’s kindness had been true, that he really _had _wanted to help. But Loki wasn’t human, so he didn’t live by the same codes of morality that humans did. There was no reason why he couldn’t treat Tony with kindness and yet also consider him a possession. A bit like how a dragon would collect treasure, rather than how a human would go looking for a friend… or a partner.

Not, of course, that Tony thought Loki was a dragon. He didn’t have nearly enough gold and jewels in his cave for that, even discounting the lack of wings and scales.

Well, maybe that was a problem that Tony could work out later. He was back home now, he had access to books and information that might help him solve the mystery.

That was enough motivation to have Tony sitting up—

And he pulled the coat away from him, not caring that the air felt cool without it, and he threw it down to the ground with a little more force than necessary.

It looked a lot smaller, lying crumpled on the floor. The black leather, the gold embellishments and the green lining seemed almost out of place, rather than the elegant lines they formed when Loki wore the thing.

Tony sighed, and tore his gaze from the coat to examine the rest of the room which had seemed almost alien to him the night before. His house was hardly spacious, but it was enough for just the one person– and it wasn’t as if he spent a lot of time in it, preferring to be in his forge rather than here. It had only the two rooms– the bedroom, and then the living room and the kitchen together in the main area. It wasn’t much, but it was _his_, and he realised with a slight pang that he had almost missed it.

But then his gaze landed on the chess set he kept in the corner of his room, and his mood plummeted all over again.

_God_.

It was so fucking stupid. It was just a chess set, and it looked nothing like the mess of a thing that he’d put together in Loki’s cave– but it didn’t stop a lump from forming in his throat. That varnished wooden chess set had always made him feel a little emotional, because it had been his mother’s, and she was the one who had taught him how to play. But looking at it now didn’t make him think of his _mother_, and Tony groaned with the ache of it as he buried his head in his hands.

Why did it hurt? Loki had tried to control him, he was a fucking lying asshole who didn’t deserve to have any of Tony’s pain. He _didn’t_ _deserve it_, not one single scrap, not one piece of sympathy or a single ounce of sadness. Loki didn’t deserve his tears, and he sure as hell didn’t deserve his _regret_.

And—

Actually.

No.

Fucking_ no._

Tony wasn’t going to let this beat him. He _refused._

He was Tony Stark, he was better than this– and he was going to go back out into the village and he was going to live his fucking life without the memory of one monster pulling him back.

Yeah, Loki had been shitty. Yeah, it hurt. But that didn’t mean that it had to _stop_ him, it didn’t mean that he was going to let Loki affect the rest of his life. Not when Tony still had so many other good things that he could focus on instead.

So, with his expression set into half a determined snarl, Tony shoved away from his bed and pulled himself to his feet, uncaring of the way that his ankle immediately began to complain.

He was going to get through this, even if his determination was powered by fucking _spite—_

Because Tony had fought to get out of there. He’d _fought_ for his survival, and he’d be damned if he threw it away after all that he’d already endured.

He forced himself to his feet and made his way to his chest of clothes, kicking the leather coat out of the way as he limped past it without even a single glance. (It might have twinged a bit, but. He pushed _through_ it.)

Clean clothes were easy enough, and he didn’t bother thinking about trying to sort a bath when he wasn’t all that dirty anyway. He’d bathed in the cave, and only the dirt from his sprint through the trees remained on his skin. That would come off with a quick wash, and for now he would look even _cleaner_ than normal, as he was free from the usual grime from his smithy.

He just wanted to get out of the house as soon as he could—

And when he pushed open the door and turned his face up toward the still-dark sky, it felt like it should have when he’d walked back through the village gates. It felt _freeing, _to be able to walk in the open air, alone and (mostly, save his ankle) unhindered.

Pepper had said that either she or Rhodey would come to collect him in the morning, but Tony had woken far too early for that. It was possible that Tony’s sleeping schedule had grown a bit out of whack while had been in the cave– there wasn’t really any way of knowing. But it meant that the streets were empty as Tony limped his way through the town, the sun not yet in the sky. He could hear eerie howls from the forest, far more distant than they had been while he was in the cave– yet he felt a shiver go up his spine.

He so very nearly became trapped in that forest forever.

But that was _not_ something to be thinking about. The important thing was that he had made it out, and that if he looked up to the sky now, he could see the stars glittering brightly across that dark expanse, pinpricks of light amongst an inky black canvas which– actually, it was rather beautiful as well, the contrast between the two making the stars glitter all the brighter.

And you know what? Those stars looked fucking beautiful.

Tony had wanted to head straight to the tavern, where he knew he would be able to get himself a meal that was a little more edible than the mould that was growing in his pantry. But every step sent shards of pain spiking up his leg. He wished that he’d thought to grab some kind of cane, for the further he walked the worse it became– though he had been able to walk almost without any discomfort the day before.

He supposed that he must have damaged something in his still healing ankle as he had been running through the forest, and that the adrenaline had prevented him from feeling the extent of the damage until now. He hoped that he hadn’t re-broken it– for without Loki’s seiðr, it would heal far more slowly than it had been.

Tony wondered if Loki regretted healing his ankle. Sure, it had been a factor in helping Tony to warm up to him, but Tony hadn’t known at the beginning that it was something Loki could even _do._ He could have just let Tony heal normally, and they could have had a full six weeks or so in that cave.

Tony shuddered at the thought, and he told himself that it was from horror. It was the only way that he would have been able to cope with the reaction, otherwise.

When he reached a door which should have been almost as familiar to him as his own, Tony’s fist hovered over the wood, hesitating before the knock.

He just… well, it was so early that the sun hadn’t yet risen, and he didn’t want to bother someone with an injury that had already started to heal. Perhaps he _should_ just continue to the tavern, since there would always be someone manning the counter there—

_No._ He couldn’t afford any excuses. He just needed to grow a fucking pair and get this over and done with.

So Tony rapped on the door, his knock quick and firm.

It didn’t take as long to get a response as it would have from any other door at this hour, and Tony smiled as he heard the approaching grumbles, knowing they were but a product of being woken far too early and were not truly meant.

And indeed, when Bruce threw open the door his expression was tired, but he was wearing a welcoming smile—

At least until his gaze met Tony, and then his eyes widened with a gasp.

“Tony!” Bruce exclaimed. “You’re here! Pepper said you were all right, but I—”

“I can’t believe you all doubted me,” Tony cut in, his own lips turning up despite himself. “Honestly, you didn’t all actually think that the forest could kill me_,_ did you? It’ll take more than a few trees to get rid of me.”

“There’s more than just a few trees in there,” Bruce said, though his tone was more relieved than anything else. “God, Tony. We really did think you were dead.”

“Yeah, I know,” Tony sighed, guilt sparking through him. “I’m sorry. But I didn’t have any way to get back, and it’s not like I could have sent a courier pigeon.”

“I suppose not.” Then Bruce smiled, and stepped forward to pull Tony into a tight hug. “I’m so glad you’re back.”

Tony turned his head to press his face into Bruce’s shoulder, feeling a little choked. “So am I.”

They stayed there for a few moments longer before Bruce pulled away, wiping his eyes surreptitiously on the sleeve of the nightgown he was wearing. Then he cleared his throat. “Right. Well, I’m assuming that since you just returned from the forest and you have come to see me at this hour, that you didn’t only want to catch up. Is something wrong?”

“Astute as always, Brucie,” Tony said. “Yeah. I’ve broken my ankle.”

Bruce blinked, then he frowned– and Tony braced himself for what was coming—

“And you’re still _standing_ there?” Bruce asked, horrified. “Come inside, _now_. Get out of the cold, come and sit down—”

Bruce continued for a while, and Tony found himself smiling brighter than he had thought possible only a half hour before. And more than that– being in Bruce’s house, Tony found that he could relax more than he had been able to since arriving back at the village. The room was beyond familiar, and Bruce’s muttering as he pulled bits and pieces down from shelves was soothing. Getting his ankle poked and prodded wasn’t exactly unfamiliar either, though Tony refused to think on why that was the case.

There _was_, however, a little bit of a snag once Bruce started his examination.

“Uh, Tony,” Bruce said as he felt along Tony’s foot and then wiggled his ankle a little, almost causing Tony to bite his tongue.

“Yeah?” Tony groaned.

“You said you broke this?”

“_Yes,”_ Tony replied. “That would be why you can’t bend it like that without it _hurting—” _

“I don’t think I should be able to bend it like this at all,” Bruce cut in. Then he put Tony’s foot back down – thank god – and reached up to take off his spectacles and wipe his handkerchief over his brow. “Tony… if this was broken, then you broke it at _least_ a month ago.”

Ah.

Uh.

_Oops?_

“Oh,” Tony said. “Maybe it was just a sprain, then. I _was_ worried about a few other things. Maybe the crack I heard was a stick. I mean. I was a little distracted, being in the forest and all.”

Bruce sighed. “You’re lucky it wasn’t worse,” he muttered– and then he got back to it, showing Tony how to strap and splint it so that he would be able to take the bandage off while he washed.

By the time he was done, it was _almost_ a respectable time– but when Tony mentioned his plan to head to the tavern, Bruce simply waved him off and began to prepare breakfast for two.

“I can’t imagine you’ve got much food left in your house,” Bruce said lightly. “And you know, if you feel the need, you can repay me by fixing that chair over there. The legs have been uneven for weeks and it’s been getting on my nerves– _after_ you’ve healed,” Bruce added sharply, pointing the knife he had been cutting bread with at Tony.

Tony leaned back into the couch he had been about to stand up from, wearing a sheepish smile.

And things were peaceful, for. About four minutes. Bruce had just finished placing the bread and some cheese onto the table before there was a sudden _racket_ at the door, someone banging hard enough that they were probably waking up the entire village.

“Bruce!” The hammering continued, and Bruce frowned as he moved to answer. “Open up– Tony’s gone missing again, he’s not in his house, we can’t find him and Pepper hasn’t seen him either, _Bruce open the fuck up—”_

Bruce yanked the door open and Clint all but fell through it, stumbling and reaching out to grab Bruce’s shoulder. And then, his eyes landed on—

“Tony!” Clint exclaimed.

“Hello, Clint.” Tony crossed his arms, and put on a glare he was sure was intimidating despite the fact that he was stuck on the couch.

Clint opened his mouth as if he was going to reply, but before he could, he was pushed out of the way as the mobile chair that Tony had made for Rhodey – sometimes cumbersome but very effective as a battering ram – came rolling through the door.

“Tony?”

And Tony didn’t really care that his ankle was hurting. He got up off the couch and hurriedly limped over to give Rhodey a hug, holding his best friend close and hiding the wetness in his eyes, the brightness of his _smile_ in Rhodey’s shoulder. Clint was apologising, they were _all_ saying how much they’d missed each other, and…

Well.

Yeah, Loki had hurt him.

But with friends like these… Tony knew he was going to be all right.

—//—

The first day was the hardest. After that, it got_… _well, not better, perhaps, but. _Easier_.

His friends helped. They all saw that his time in the forest had rattled him – though of course, they didn’t know exactly _why_ – and they did all they could to make sure that he didn’t stay alone for too long at a time. Pepper was a whirlwind when she came in to help him clean his kitchen, dragging Steve with her for an extra pair of hands. Natasha was like a shadow, always melting to his side whenever anyone even so much as _looked_ like they wanted to ask him about how he’d survived, her glare keeping nosy townsfolk away more effectively than any blade.

But the one person who stuck by Tony through and through was Rhodey. It seemed like whenever Tony needed someone to talk to, he was always within arm’s reach, always right there and waiting to help Tony through whatever mess was brewing inside his head. He was good with distractions, too, with finding something for Tony to focus on which would pull him away from thinking about… about the cave.

Such as one afternoon, the third since Tony had been back home– when Tony complained about being bored since Bruce _still_ wouldn’t let him into the forge and, Rhodey asked him if he wanted to play _chess_.

The question caused something in Tony’s chest to freeze, to pull in tight and make him feel a little like the world had suddenly become a little bit too small.

But… Tony had always loved playing chess. And that was his _mother’s_ chess set.

So—

“You know what?” Tony asked. “Yeah. Yeah, I will.”

Rhodey had been a little confused by the way that Tony had reacted, but he hadn’t _pushed—_

Which, of course, was what had Tony opening up, speaking quietly as without prompting in between moving his pieces.

He didn’t tell Rhodey the _whole_ story, just that he’d run into a monster who was sentient, one who had wanted to _keep_ Tony rather than kill him. He told Rhodey that he hadn’t worked out what the creature was, but that he was sure it had _some_ kind of allure, and that his charm had managed to protect him from the hypnosis attempt. Rhodey had listened with a violent look in his eye, and… even though he hadn’t said much, even if all he did _was_ listen, it was enough to help Tony work through it.

Talking helped. Playing chess _helped_.

And the morning after that conversation, Rhodey showed up at Tony’s door with a book in his hand.

“It’s from the town archives,” he said. “A record of every creature that has been spotted in the forest.”

Tony swallowed. “Rhodey, I—”

“You don’t have to,” Rhodey said. “I just thought I would let you know that the option is there, if you want it. If you think that it would help, to get a picture of exactly what that _thing_ could have done to you.”

Tony’s fingers trembled, but he took the book. He placed it on the coffee table by his old, ratty couch– the couch which was nowhere _near_ as comfortable as the one which had somehow, impossibly, made it inside a certain cave. And then the book had… stayed there. For _hours._

At first, Tony told himself that he would just take it back to the archives. He didn’t know what Loki was, and really, he didn’t _care_. He didn’t.

But, every hour that passed had his eyes sliding to the book all over again, and even after going out to meet up with Pepper for dinner– he only returned to stare at it all over again.

And…

Well, Rhodey was right. Getting an idea of what Loki could have done to him might help him put everything behind him. Because, it was _hard_, having memories in his head that he wasn’t sure whether he could trust or not.

So he drew in a deep breath, sat down on the couch, and opened up the book.

As he read through the pages, Tony found himself making something of a mental checklist. Loki had two feet, which of course eliminated him from a few of the half-human beings. But of course, there was his ability with illusions to consider as well as the fact that there were many creatures that were capable of shapeshifting, or holding more than just the one form. Some mermaids could shift, though the skill was uncommon– and some faeries could hide their wings. But Tony had already eliminated those options through his earlier observations, and he continued on _searching_ until he paused on a page which seemed to hold his answer.

Beautiful, alluring, difficult to resist. _Powerful_, appearing to people especially when they were in danger, capable of powerful illusions, usually preferred to live near water…

Oh, yes.

Loki had to be a siren. Tony would bet money on it.

Sirens, you see, are able to appear as their prey’s greatest desire, as anything that would draw a person in. The book stated that sometimes, sirens offered knowledge or promises of wealth. More often, they offered physical pleasure beyond imagining. But Tony… well. It seemed that he had wanted someone who could keep up with his conversations, someone who not only gave him a run for his money at his favourite game but who absolutely wiped the _floor_ with him_._ Someone who cared enough to look after him, yet didn’t treat him as if he _needed_ it. Someone who… wasn’t entirely perfect, but… who fit him far better than anyone else ever had.

Well. Until Tony had his eyes opened when Loki had revealed his darker nature. Which, funnily enough, _also_ lined up with the profile of a siren.

And it really did fit perfectly, because… Tony’s charm protected against magical manipulations, but it wouldn’t have been able to do a thing about the way that a siren could change _themselves._ And even more so than that, it matched the way that Tony had been attracted at first but then had just noticed more and _more_ things about Loki that he liked, more and more reasons why he had wanted to stay—

So, did that mean _none_ of it had been real?

Tony shut the book with a snap, and threw it across the room. It skidded through the door and into his bedroom, and he didn’t really care where it landed.

He took a few deep breaths, and he ran his hands through his hair.

It was hitting him hard again, in another one of those frustrating moments when the ache swooped out of nowhere.

It wasn’t even that he was missing Loki, because Loki was fucking asshole. And he’d already known that what had happened between them was twisted and false.

He just… he missed the _potential_, he missed the way that he had felt when he was in the cave, and he missed the _belief_ that he had found someone… well. Someone like Loki had _seemed_. It wasn’t necessarily the person he missed, it was everything _else._

And… hey. When he put it like that? It was a little bit easier to deal with.

A sharp rap against Tony’s front door drew him out of his thoughts, and he smiled as he moved to answer it. Rhodey again, no doubt, with his seemingly psychic ability to know exactly whenever Tony was feeling a little down.

Tony pulled open the door with a flourish, a smile and greeting already prepared on his lips—

But instead of Rhodey… he found someone who was standing far too upright, someone wearing leather pants and a soft green tunic clinched with a leather belt. His gaze had been low down with the expectation of seeing his friend, but instead, Tony was met with the sight of something completely unexpected and _entirely_ unwelcome.

And as Tony’s gaze slid up over the almost crocodile-skin pattern in the fine material and past close-fitting sleeves… over the green, the black, and the _gold_ that was both familiar and strange– he drew in a breath that felt a little too sharp. His heart was pounding in his chest as his eyes panned over a shoulder he _knew_ made a comfortable pillow, over pale skin that had once flushed a light pink when Tony had leaned close and then to a bright green gaze that felt like it was burning to his core, near glowing through the line of darkness that had cast his visitor’s face half in shadow.

“Oh– _shit,”_ Tony gasped– and despite the dim, orange light of dusk, Tony saw the way that Loki’s lips tightened. “What the everlasting _hell_ are you doing here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The art for this chapter is on tumblr [here.](https://rabentochter.tumblr.com/post/188515393734/knock-knock-whos-there-the-new-chapter-for)


	5. Biting with an edge

There are a lot of things in life that aren’t fair. That’s something that everyone knows, right? A fact that’s so ingrained in the general psyche of every living person that it’s never questioned—

And yet it’s still a notion that is repeated over and over, within one’s mind and aloud, in complaints and whines and excuses and attempted _comforts. _

_Life isn’t fair._

Tony had only just started getting past what had happened. He was working through working _past_ it, his time with his friends helping more than anything, his mind getting back into a better place than it had been since he had returned home.

There had still been those moments when he’d thought back to his time in the cave– only minutes beforehand working as a perfect example, since he’d been reading through the book, reading up on sirens so he could assure himself that what had happened had not been his _fault, _that there wasn’t anything wrong with him and that he would be able to move on. But despite those moments, Tony knew that he was getting better, he _knew_ that he was improving—

And that, of course, was when Loki had to show up and throw everything back into chaos.

“Anthony,” Loki said, his voice stupidly soft in a way that scratched across Tony’s skin. “I came to apologise—”

“Yeah, well, there’s no need,” Tony cut in, not wanting to hear it. “I should have known better than to trust you, and that’s the end of it. You should go.”

“I will _not.”_ Loki’s voice hardened slightly, his eyes narrowing. “I risked too much to come here—”

“Yes,” Tony agreed. “You did. So you should leave before someone comes and _finds you _here. And for that matter, how the hell did you even _find me—”_

“Tracing spells are not difficult,” Loki replied—

And Tony felt a surge of rage crash over him like a wave, his hands clenching into fists so tight that his nails dug hard into his palms. “You put a _tracing spell_ on me?” he spat.

“No, I—”

“Get the _fuck_ away from me, Loki,” Tony hissed, one hand violently clenching the edge of the door. “And get _out_ of this village. You’re lucky I’m not shouting for help, they’d all—”

“I know what they would do,” Loki cut in. “And yet, I came here anyway—”

“You shouldn’t have, I don’t want you here—”

“You must allow me to explain—”

“I don’t _have_ to do anything,” Tony snarled. “This is my home, we’re in _my_ territory now, so get the fuck out—”

“That is not what I meant,” Loki said, his jaw clenching. And then his gaze flicked down to Tony’s, their eyes meeting properly for the first time since the start of the conversation. And that green almost seemed to be shining in the light of the setting sun—

And Tony’s reaction was instinctive.

He closed the door shut and slid the lock into place with a good, solid _click._

Tony closed his eyes as he leaned his forehead against the rough wooden door, his muscles almost aching with the tension that rippled through them.

_Fuck._

Loki, _Loki_ had come to the village to speak to him. He’d thought he’d left it all in the past, he thought that the cave and fucking Loki was all behind him now, just a bad nightmare that he needed to wipe from his mind before he could continue on with the rest of his life.

And yet, like one of those recurring nightmares that returned when least expected, Loki had simply appeared on his doorstep.

Hopefully, he would get the very clear message Tony was trying to send by slamming his door in Loki’s face. Hopefully, Loki would just _go_, and he wouldn’t come back—

Because if he did…

Well, anger is hard to hold on to for such a long time. Especially when there are other conflicting emotions, when seeing Loki standing there had made something… not _entirely_ terrible yet completely unwelcome spark through Tony’s chest.

He didn’t _want_ to see Loki. And he hated that his first reaction, his first slice of concern had not even been for _himself_.

Yeah.

_Fuck_ had about covered it.

Even now, Tony couldn’t shake away the feeling of unease that was building inside him. Because, the sun was already setting– the gates would already be locked. Loki would not be able to go, he would be stuck inside the walls until dawn.

Whatever.

That wasn’t something Tony needed to worry about, right?

Perhaps there was the _slim_ possibility that Loki would try to charm another villager, but… well. The village was small enough that everybody knew _literally_ everybody, and there were never any traders or travellers wandering outside after dark. Not when the distant howls from the forest were more than enough to scare even the hardiest of men back inside their homes. And the moment any of the villagers saw an unfamiliar face, they would slam the door in his face even faster than Tony had, and possibly even sound the alarm.

No, Tony didn’t need to worry about any of the townsfolk falling under Loki’s spell.

If anything… the only person who needed worrying about was Loki himself.

Because if he _was_ noticed, and people started asking questions—

Well, that was the reason why Loki hadn’t wanted to come near the village in the first place, wasn’t it?

But. That, that didn’t matter either. Because if Loki got caught, then. Well, he deserved it. He was a creature of the night, he was a _monster—_

Except…

He was still a _person_. Loki wasn’t a griffin, or an acromantula, or a cockatrice. He was a _person_, a sentient being with thoughts and feelings and—

And did that make it worse? That Loki had _known_ what he was doing and had done it anyway, as opposed to if he had been a senseless creature acting on instinct?

Oh for– you know what made this all the more infuriating? Tony had already thought all this through, he’d already considered that Loki’s morality was likely skewed when compared to a human’s, but– it was as if seeing Loki again was dredging all the arguments back up to the surface.

And what if… what if that wasn’t entirely Tony’s fault?

Because Loki might be a person, yes, but he wasn’t a _human_, and there was a chance that even just this short moment of contact had been enough for Loki to begin influencing Tony again.

But… no. Tony had managed to pull away in the cave, hadn’t he? The _physical_ side of his power was clearly not entirely overpowering, then, and so long as Tony kept a clear head then he _should_ be able to fight against whatever his body was doing.

And even though he told himself that he was perfectly happy to leave Loki out for the wolves, as it were…

Well.

Tony could have sent the hunting parties out after Loki _days_ ago, if he’d wanted. He knew where Loki’s home was, and even though he’d told Loki that he wasn’t going to disclose the location of the cave to another human, he was hardly a creature who couldn’t lie. Tony was a human, and… humans broke promises all the time.

But Tony _hadn’t._

It had taken him several days to even tell Rhodey about Loki at all, and that… well, he knew himself well enough to recognise that wasn’t entirely due to embarrassment or shame for his own stupidity.

No.

He hadn’t wanted Rhodey to know for the same reason that he hadn’t admitted the truth to Pepper upon his arrival back in the village– he didn’t want them to know that Loki was out there, for _Loki’s_ sake.

It wasn’t an emotional attachment, though. And it _wasn’t_ because he was _worried_ about Loki’s _wellbeing_.

It was just that, even if Loki had done terrible things to him, he _had_ saved Tony’s life. That was a fact Tony couldn’t deny, and… Tony didn’t like the thought of being in a monster’s debt. Perhaps, if Tony helped him now, he could turn his back on Loki at a later date without a hit to his conscience.

That was all.

So, it was with a wince and a heavy heart that Tony pulled his door open once more—

To find that his doorstep was empty.

Tony blinked.

If he’d had the time to think on it, he certainly wouldn’t have expected that Loki would give up so very easily, especially when he’d apparently been willing to resort to hypnotism to keep Tony from leaving him—

But then Tony saw a figure moving through the shadows further down the street, and he drew in a deep breath to steel himself before stepping over the threshold and out of the safety of his home. He hurried forward before calling out, not wanting to wake any of the neighbours.

“Loki!” he hissed—

And Loki turned with a speed that was almost unnatural, his eyes widening as he saw Tony behind him.

“Anthony?” he asked. “You’re—"

“Look,” Tony snapped, not wanting to hear it. “This is not forgiveness, not even close. This is not me saying that I _trust_ you. I don’t, and I don’t _want_ you in my house, I don’t want you anywhere near me. But I _am_ aware that I owe you a debt, and that the gates will already be locked. So you can come in for now, but in the morning? You’re _gone_. And if you try anything– then I’m kicking you straight out to the curb, you hear me?”

Loki’s lips parted as if he were going to say something, but Tony was not in the mood to negotiate and snapped out one last word before Loki could make a single sound.

“_Deal?” _

And again, Loki seemed to shatter Tony’s expectations– because he thought that the deal would not have been enough to satisfy Loki. But Loki actually _smiled_ as he took Tony’s hand, his fingers curling around Tony’s in a manner that was almost tentative. “Very well,” he said. “Deal. I _will_ be gone before the rising of the sun.”

Tony nodded, and yanked his hand from Loki’s the moment that the handshake was completed.

“Okay,” he said, pretending that he didn’t see the hurt which flashed through Loki’s eyes. “Come on, then.”

He led the way back toward his house, and ushered Loki inside before bolting the door once again. And perhaps Tony should have felt a little self-conscious, given that his house was only a tiny fraction of the size of Loki’s cave. But, he didn’t. This was _his_ house, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to be ashamed of it when Loki had just barged in without even being wanted– let alone invited.

Loki could just deal.

“You have a nice home,” Loki said as he glanced around, his heavy leather boots somehow making hardly a sound on Tony’s floorboards.

“Sure,” Tony replied, his tone almost dismissive. He was helping Loki by allowing him to stay out of sight, but that didn’t mean that he had to engage in small talk.

Still, Tony kept an eye on Loki as the siren walked through the living room, not comfortable enough to turn his back– though he made sure not to meet Loki’s gaze again. He could feel the coolness of his charm at his wrist, but… it was far better to be safe than sorry.

It meant that he was left standing awkwardly in the centre of his own home, unable to look away and yet unable to watch properly—

But then Loki’s attention was drawn by the board on the coffee table, and Tony took several steps forward as Loki plucked one of the wooden pieces from atop it.

“Don’t touch that,” Tony said, his hand snapping out—

Their fingers brushed as Tony snatched the piece from Loki’s hand, and Loki’s gaze flickered up– but Tony kept his own eyes staunchly on the chess set as he gently put the rook back in its proper place.

Loki was silent for half a moment, and Tony could feel the weight of his gaze. Perhaps this hadn’t been such a good idea, after all.

“This is the same as the set you made for me,” Loki said, his voice only just above a whisper.

“No,” Tony said. “That set was a mess. This one is a piece of art.”

“But it is the same game,” Loki insisted, reaching out once again– and Tony tensed, but Loki didn’t _touch, _his fingers just tracing the air over the pieces.

“Yes.” Tony’s jaw tightened. “This is my set, which I learned to play on. It _was_ my mother’s, so please _do not_ touch it.”

Loki’s hand pulled back as if he had been burned– but he didn’t apologise. He just moved to sit on the couch– the couch which, yeah, was not half as comfortable as Loki’s, but. Who cared?

Tony picked the board up from the table and moved it over to a shelf, where it would be less likely to be disturbed– and then he turned to face Loki, staring solidly at the siren’s left shoulder.

“I think we need to lay some ground rules,” Tony said.

“I’d like to apologise,” Loki said immediately– and that only made Tony want to gnash his teeth. “I know that I should not have touched it without your permission—”

“Yeah, you shouldn’t have,” Tony agreed. “You’re also not going to go through that door over there—” he gestured to his bedroom, “—and you _are_ going to, turn off your, allure or whatever it is that you used on me in the cave. Okay? I let you in here because I owe you, but if you try to control me again then that will be null and void.”

“I understand that you are only doing this because you want to thank me for healing your ankle,” Loki said– and the words were almost a little sad. _Good_. “But I hope that—”

“_And_ because I probably would have been eaten by a monster if not for you,” Tony interrupted, almost a little grudgingly.

“Well… yes,” Loki said in a halting voice– but then he gained momentum as he continued back on what he had been saying before. “I know that you are not doing this out of any fondness for me but, if you could find in your… well, I would take any time that you are willing to offer me so that I can _apologise_ for what I almost did to you—”

“You mean, for what you _did_ do to me?” Tony cut in. “I know that the hypnosis was only the _last_ of your manipulations—”

“That was the only time, I ssswear it,” Loki interrupted– and his hands were clenched into fists in his lap, but he did not get up off the couch. Tony was glad for that– if Loki were standing, he would tower over Tony. At least this way, Tony could at least pretend that _he_ was in control of the situation. “And I did not even mean for it to happen, I was—”

“Answer me something, Loki,” Tony hissed. “And answer me with _truth._ When you almost hypnotised me, was it because you wanted me to stay?”

Loki sighed. “Of course it was,” he said, sounding suddenly defeated. “You _know_ that it was.”

“Even though you knew that I wanted to go? That I missed my friends, and that I wanted to come back _home—”_

“I would not have stopped you from going back forever,” Loki started– but then he paused, his eyes widening as if he realised his mistake without prompting. But Tony felt the need to point it out anyway.

“The fact that you wanted to stop me _at all_ is the problem here,” he snapped. “You tried to trap me in that cave, like a prisoner or a hostage, like some kind of human _pet—”_

“Anthony, _no,”_ Loki said, sounding honestly stricken. But sirens were actors, weren’t they? They spent their lives moulding themselves into what their prey _wanted them_ to be. Which… actually, that did make the fact that Loki had managed to fuck up so badly almost surprising in retrospect. Perhaps he had simply grown overconfident. “That is not what I intended. I was wishing that you would stay because I wish to ssspend more time with you, because I—”

“I don’t think I want to hear this,” Tony groaned, rubbing his hand over his face. “It doesn’t matter now, anyway, because whatever… _that_ was, it wasn’t real. And it’s not going to happen, not ever again.”

Loki shifted– and Tony refused to look at his expression, but… somehow, he knew that Loki would look shattered. Because that would have tugged at Tony’s heartstrings, and that was always what Loki had done best.

So, Tony steeled himself and crossed his arms over his chest.

“I know what you are,” Tony said. “And your power isn’t going to work on me, not anymore.”

There was a moment of silence– and _then_, Tony dared to look over, keeping his eyes from Loki’s but daring to flick his gaze over the siren’s face. Loki’s skin looked even paler than normal, and his head was tilted down. His lips were twisted in pain and there were lines across his expression which – _goddamn it _– truly did make Tony want to cross the room and pull Loki into a hug—

But then Loki’s eyes shifted up, and Tony immediately glanced away once more.

“I will not attempt to hypnotise you, not ever again,” Loki said. “It was a mistake, an _accident_ the first time, and there will never be another such slip. You have my word.”

“And how am I supposed to trust that?” Tony shot back. He _knew_ that he was still wearing his charm, and that there was even a spare on top of the side table in his bedroom should he need it. But that didn’t mean that he should be careless.

“I have told you that I cannot lie,” Loki said. “And if you now understand what I am, then you should _know_ that is the truth.”

Tony actually _laughed_ at that, a laugh that was harsh and pained and tore from his throat in a broken bark.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “But that’s…”

“It’s _what?”_ Loki asked.

Tony shook his head. “It’s… well. It’s a bit of a joke, actually,” he said. After all, there had been nothing in the book which stated that sirens could not lie– if anything, then sirens were _professional_ liars. And not to mention the fact that– “You swore to me I would be safe in your cave. If that’s not a lie then—”

“You _were—” _

“Oh, lay off it, Loki,” Tony snapped– and he finally turned his back and stalked toward the small kitchen, though it was more from anger than anything else. “We both know you’re nothing but a liar, nothing more than an _illusionist_. You admitted as much to me before. So you can drop the act, you can go back to being whatever you are when you’re alone, and we can pass these hours in silence before you slink back to where you came from.”

Tony received only silence in return– but even though it had, in a way, been what he had asked for, it felt eerie enough that he turned back to face the room.

“What?” he snapped, slamming both hands on the kitchen counter so that he could pin Loki with a glare– albeit one aimed at the siren’s forehead, rather than his eyes.

Loki was watching Tony with something akin to confusion, and when he saw that Tony was facing him again, he cleared his throat. “Anthony,” Loki asked, tilting his head. “What is it that you think I am?”

“I think you’re an asshole,” Tony replied easily– not caring that Loki flinched. Or at least, _trying_ not to– because it was the truth, and Tony didn’t owe his almost-jailor a thing. “I think you’re a liar, and I think that you’re a manipulative bastard who’s too used to getting what he wants. I think you’re used to _winning_, and you’re not used to being around people who will not fall under your spell.”

“I am not used to being around people _at all_,” Loki said– and his voice was a little sharper now, biting with an edge for really the first time since he had appeared on Tony’s doorstep. It was almost a little strange, actually, how utterly _calm_ Loki was being even as Tony threw insults his way. Should that be worrying? Well, before Tony could think any more on it– “Anthony, I am _not_ a liar. I have not _once_ lied to you, and I never will—”

“You’re lying to me _now,”_ Tony snapped. “Every single breath you take is a lie, everything you say is a lie, every single little thing about you is a _lie_. I don’t even know what you really look like, do I?”

“I could show you—”

“As if that will make anything better?” Tony groaned, and rubbed his hands over his face. “Do you know what the worst part about this whole fucked up situation is? It’s that even now, after all you’ve fucking done to me I still look at you and I think you’re someone that I could be friends with, someone that I could even be _more_ than friends with. But that’s just a lie, isn’t it? Just yet another _fucking_ lie, an illusion of friendship wrapped over the _creature_ just waiting to lure another piece of gormless prey into a trap.”

What Tony could see of Loki’s expression was shining with hurt. “You think you know what I am, but it is rather clear that you do not know me at all,” Loki said. “And if you can’t even… you’re not ever going to listen to an apology, are you?”

Oh, for—

_That?_ Now, that was such a minor thing, when put into perspective with everything else that Loki had done. And yet– it was the straw that broke the mule’s back, abrasive over Tony’s nerves in all the worst kinds of ways.

“You know what?” Tony asked. “You keep saying that. You keep saying that you’re _going_ to apologise for what you did, that you’d ‘like’ to. And maybe I would actually listen, if you freaking _said it_. But all you’re doing is speculating—”

“If I did,” Loki said, only managing to do that same fucking thing _again—_ “Then would you _accept it?”_

Tony stared at him for a moment– and then he turned away. Loki seemed to deflate as Tony fetched a glass of water, and still neither of them had said a thing by the time he made it to his bedroom.

“A little tip about dealing with _humans,”_ Tony said without turning, just pausing in the doorway. “You should give the apology whether you think it’s going to be accepted or not. If it’s needed, then it’s needed– and an expected reaction doesn’t change what _you_ did. That’s on you, no one else.”

And then he stepped into his room, and closed the door behind him.

—//—

It was impossible to relax, knowing that Loki was just on the other side of his bedroom door. It wasn’t that he was worried, or that he was _scared–_ even though, he still thought that there was a chance that he _should_ be.

It was odd, actually. He knew that Loki wasn’t going to leave– since he’d likely be facing the chopping block if he did. And he didn’t think that Loki would destroy or steal anything, because… well, as much as everything about Loki was a façade, Tony did actually believe that he wasn’t the kind of person to do something that uncivilised. Ha. Yeah. That was Loki– following the rules of courtesy, right up until he tried to take away a guest’s free will.

It was just _knowing_ that Loki was close, that the person who he had tried not to think about was separated from him by only that thin strip of wood.

It was… _disquieting._

But less because of Loki himself, and more due to what was happening inside Tony’s own head.

And that _sucked._

He could have sat there for an hour– it could have only been five minutes. He felt a kind of sick, nervous feeling inside him made it seem as if time were crawling, and yet his mind would not stop racing in a way which usually would give time wings. He didn’t _like_ feeling that way, and he did his best to try and find a way to settle everything down, to _calm_ his thoughts and push away the awfulness that curled inside his gut.

Tony’s jaw was clenching hard enough that it was starting to ache, and he made himself try to relax it as he lay down, hoping that he would be able to get some rest. But he didn’t put on his nightshirt, because, well, he told himself he just couldn’t be bothered, but… there was just, a niggling kind of reluctance, just something stopping him from being able to allow himself even _that_ tiny level of vulnerability while Loki was in the house.

It had been so easy, in the cave. So comfortable. But now, all of that was gone, and all that was left was the sweatiness of Tony’s palms and a racing mind that wouldn’t allow him to relax.

And to make matters worse, Tony could hear Loki doing _something_, so it was clear that the siren wasn’t sitting and moping like Tony was. That was almost even _more_ annoying, knowing that this wasn’t affecting Loki the same way– and it made Tony grit his teeth.

Hadn’t he already decided that he wasn’t going to let this beat him? Hadn’t he decided that Loki wasn’t going to be able to dictate _anything_ in his life, no matter how indirectly?

That meant the strategy of hiding in his room instead of dealing with the problem – or better yet, not allowing this to become a problem in the first place – was just not acceptable anymore. Tony was _better_ than that, wasn’t he?

He would go back out there, he would prove to Loki – and to himself, which was far more important – that he was _fine_. That he wasn’t affected by this, that Loki couldn’t make him mad—

But Tony had only just made up his mind to go back out into the living room when there was a solid knock on his bedroom door, and Tony sat up cross-legged on his mattress with a glare.

“What?” he snapped– and then regretted it. Damn, he was annoyed about the _interruption_, right? But he didn’t need to make it seem as if he was annoyed at Loki, not when that might be the kind of reaction that Loki was looking for. Everyone knew that, in situations such as these, _indifference_ was the best choice.

On the other side of the door, Loki cleared his throat. “Anthony?” he asked. “It’s Loki.”

Had it been any other situation, Tony might have muttered out something along the lines of _‘Oh really? And here I was expecting the Muffin Man.’_ – but he bit down on the quip.

“I thought I told you not to come in here,” Tony said instead. But before he could tell Loki to _go away—_

“I made dinner.”

The answer was more than unexpected.

“You _what?”_

“Dinner.” There was a soft sound of clinking, as if Loki was adjusting something in his hands. “You did not eat anything before you went to bed, and. Your ankle is not healed, so I thought it might help if—”

He was cut off as Tony _wrenched_ the door open, having all but stormed across the room– at least, as best as his ankle would allow.

“You want to try and heal me again?” Tony asked sharply. “Because let me tell you, that’s something that is never going to—”

“No,” Loki said, shaking his head– and then he lifted the single plate he held in his hands. “I merely thought that some food would help you heal.”

Tony blinked. “Oh. O…kay?”

He looked down to the plate, and paused further when he realised that Loki had tried to recreate one of the dishes he’d made for Tony while they were in the cave. Even though Tony hadn’t the same ingredients in his pantry the attempt was clear– as was the intention.

Loki was keeping his gaze down, not trying to meet Tony’s, as if he’d realised that was making Tony uncomfortable before. He was holding out the single plate, clearly with no intention of staying– and as Tony still hesitated, Loki even grimaced.

“I haven’t poisoned it,” he said, lifting it a little further.

“No, I…” Tony realised that he _believed_ that, if only because… well. Loki didn’t want to kill him, did he? Loki wanted them to stay _together_. “I’m just…” He sighed– and somehow, the word was slightly easier to say than it should have been. “Thanks. I guess.”

He went to take the plate, but– his ankle twinged as he did so, and he ended up gripping the edge of the door.

“You need to sit down,” Loki said– and then, tentatively… he held out his arm.

Tony stared at it for a moment, then figured– what the hell? It wasn’t like it was anything he hadn’t done before.

Loki’s leather sleeves kept the coolness of his skin at bay, but Tony still shivered a little as he gripped Loki’s arm to steady himself. And the moment they reached Tony’s bed, he let go and sat down, his hands clenched in his lap.

“Thanks,” he said again, his voice a little tight– and then he reached out to take the plate from Loki’s other hand.

Loki turned to head back into the main room after that, and Tony didn’t try to stop him. But as he moved away from the bed, Loki’s feet scuffed against something– and when he looked down to see what it was, Loki’s expression was close to _concerned_ when he noticed that it was a book.

Seeing that look on Loki’s face, Tony almost felt something that was close to fondness– and he had to glance away. So? Loki liked books. It was such a small thing, but… it was…

Was it? Was it _nice?_ To realise there was one more thing that hadn’t been a lie? One part of the Loki Tony _thought_ he knew, still present in this creature that had tried to steal Tony’s life away?

(Somehow… after seeing Loki holding a plate of food he had made for Tony just because he’d noticed that Tony hadn’t eaten yet, and with Loki now bending down to pick one of Tony’s books off the floor… _somehow_, that made it all the more difficult to think of Loki as a _creature.)_

As Loki bent down to pick the book up, he paused as his gaze caught something underneath the bed. But then he simply took the book in his hand and straightened. He looked as if he was just going to place it on a shelf or somewhere that it wouldn’t get trodden on, but then he seemed to notice the title—

And then he flipped it open.

Tony looked away, not wanting to consider what Loki would think, upon finding such a book on Tony’s bedroom floor.

It was totally reasonable for someone who lived this close to the forest to own a compendium of creatures, right? It didn’t mean _anything._

But then Loki paused on a certain page, and after looking over for it for half a minute or so he took a step forward.

“I don’t know what you think I am,” Loki said, holding out the book. “But… if you have it correct, then this is the page that you should have read. _This_ is what I can do, should you want to ease your mind.”

“I don’t need it,” Tony said, pulling his glare from the book and looking at the plate in his hands instead. “I’ve already read everything it says about sirens.”

There was a long, pregnant pause—

And when Loki finally broke the silence, he did so with a choked gasp. “_What?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find the art for this chapter on tumblr [here.](https://rabentochter.tumblr.com/post/188833571679/art-for-the-new-chapter-of-in-the-dark-of-the)


	6. Edge of a precipice

There were a few moments of silence after Loki’s exclamation, the force of it causing Tony to pause before his voice regained traction.

“Yeah,” he said, nodding to the book Loki held in his hands without really looking at it properly. “I read it already, so I _know_ what you did. I know this isn’t you, and… you know what? Whatever, Loki. That’s okay. Now that I know what you are, I’m more aware, and. After all this, you can just go back to your cave. You can’t help what you are, I know that. And—”

“Anthony,” Loki said– and he sounded strained. Tony glanced up against his better judgement, and was surprised to see that Loki’s expression was oddly mangled. “I don’t know how you came to that conclusion—”

“Because it fits perfectly?” Tony said, stating the obvious– though the confusion in Loki’s voice was real enough that he felt a shard of doubt. “Because every single moment that I spent with you only made me crave your company more? Because the more I came to know you, the more we seemed to fit? Because even when we argued, or had a difference of opinion, you still… because, apart from the way that you treated me right at the end there, it seemed like you were fucking perfect for me.”

Loki’s eyes were wide, and his voice was almost strangled as he said– “You thought that I was _perfect_ for you?”

“Of course I did,” Tony snapped. “I mean, _look_ at you! I thought I must have been dreaming, that first time I saw you in the forest, hallucinating from pain or, something. And then as I got to know you, you just– I mean, it’s not just the way you look. You’re smart, smart enough to keep up with me in a way that no one else can. Smart enough to be a _challenge_. And even in the moments when you get on my nerves or when you slaughtered me at chess, you just make me want to laugh and smile and make me feel like there’s nothing wrong at all. Being with you felt like the greatest few days of my life.”

“You… _really?”_

“_Of course,”_ Tony repeated, even harsher than the first time. “Because you’re a _fucking_ _siren_, and you _made_ yourself that way.”

“Anthony,” Loki said, staring at Tony as if he had never seen him before. “I… am _not_ a siren.”

“Of course you are,” Tony insisted. He reached out and snatched the book from Loki’s hand. It snapped together as he did so, and he had to find the page again– but when he did, he began to point out pieces of the text. “Look– you live near water, you draw people in, you said yourself that you’re good with illusions—”

“I am _not_ a siren.” Loki snatched the book back again– and then he flipped a few pages closer to the front. “Here. _Thisss_ is what I am.”

He held it out– this time not for Tony to take, but so that Tony could see the pages. The coloured illustration immediately drew Tony’s eye. It was of a woman with the upper body of a human, but the skin of her stomach gave way to scales– and from her hips she had not legs but the tail of serpent. It was a creature that Tony recognised immediately, without even needing to read the title of the page.

“A _naga?”_ Tony asked. “No, that’s impossible—”

“I assure you, it is not,” Loki replied. “I can show you if you wish—”

“No,” Tony said, the word feeling like it was being spoken by someone else. “I… no. I don’t, think that’s a good idea. But it doesn’t make any sense. You…”

Tony trailed off, all the pieces falling into place even as he tried to fight against it. Because as much as he had been _so sure_ that Loki was a siren, he wasn’t the kind of person who was unable to admit that he was wrong if all the evidence pointed to the contrary.

He didn’t need to read the book, not even with Loki still holding it out with a pleading expression painted over his face, as if he _needed_ Tony to understand that this was the truth. But, Tony really didn’t need the second look– he’d read about nagas when he had been searching through the pages earlier.

He knew that nagas liked to live near water, that much was true. Some of them possessed magic, some didn’t– but all possessed the ability to shift into a human form, though most found the shape uncomfortable for they needed to split most of their body mass and then compress it into two legs. They also had the ability to hypnotise, but only when they were holding eye contact, and only for short periods of time. And, on top of that, nagas… could not lie.

If Tony trusted everything that Loki had told him, everything that he had seen _himself_, then…

Well. From the way that Loki hadn’t liked the cold to the way that the bed and the bath in the cave seemed far larger than necessary, right to the hiss that sometimes broke through Loki’s voice _and_ the fact that he’d admitted to not being very familiar with the healing of _feet_– everything _fit_.

“Anthony?” Loki prompted, voice low and concerned– and Tony realised it had been a few minutes since he’d said anything.

But. As much as he didn’t _want_ it to make sense… it _did,_ and Tony had to accept that it was – at the moment anyway – looking like it was the truth.

“Naga,” Tony said again, shaking his head. “I suppose I might have been almost relieved if you’d told me that at the start. I did think you might have been a vampire for a while there, at least until I saw you eating food.”

“You would have been terrified if I had,” Loki replied.

Tony didn’t bother trying to deny it. “And for good reason.”

He knew, after all, how powerful nagas could be– and how dangerous.

But.

There was one thing that his thoughts were getting stuck on, one thing that kept on going through his mind.

Because if Loki wasn’t a siren… if Loki was a _naga–_ then that meant—

That _had_ to mean—

Loki _hadn’t_ been manipulating Tony’s emotions, and… everything had been _real._

It meant that Loki really _was_ that kind of person, because nagas couldn’t lie. They were physically incapable of it, which in turn meant that everything Loki had said, everything that he had _done_ was true.

Loki really was everything he had appeared to be, there had been no pretence save him wearing his human guise.

And Tony…

Well.

All of the arguments he had made to convince himself that it wasn’t real, all of the times he had tried to rationalise what had happened, every attempt to remind himself that there wasn’t anything to _grieve_ over, that nothing had been lost… everything had been based upon the foundation that Loki had been lying, that he had used an allure and illusions to draw Tony in.

But.

Loki _hadn’t._

And that meant… that everything Tony had felt…

Dear god.

Tony felt like he couldn’t say anything, like all of his words were sticking in his throat.

“I have never lied to you,” Loki insisted, one of his hands lifting slightly as if he wanted to reach out. “Not _once_. And while I know that I overstepped in other ways, I hope that you understand that I never wanted to hurt you– and that I am sorry I did.”

“You tried to hypnotise me,” Tony said, sounding a bit hoarse.

“I thought that you were going to leave,” Loki said. “And I _know_ that is no excuse, I should not have tried to stop you. I did not mean to try and force you, I simply– did not want our time together to come to an end. Because I thought, that the moment you returned to your home you wouldn’t want anything to do with me anymore. But now I see that wasn’t the case, especially if you thought that I was…” He shook his head. “I ruined everything, didn’t I?” Loki sighed, and although Tony was rather sure that the question was meant to be rhetorical, there was one thing that he _needed_ to do—

Because this was getting dangerous, now.

This wasn’t how this was meant to be going at all– Loki wasn’t supposed to be making Tony feel _sympathetic_. But the thing was– it was clear that Loki wasn’t trying to be manipulative, or trying to make Tony feel guilty. _This_ apology was genuine, and… it was making Tony soften.

He tried to push it away, because– that was something he couldn’t afford. What Loki had done really had hurt him, and a promise not to do it again? That wasn’t enough. Not when Loki had _admitted _that it hadn’t been on purpose, that he didn’t have _control._ How then could Tony trust that it was a one-time thing?

But… didn’t it make it _better,_ if Loki hadn’t meant to do it?

It was all so freaking _confusing—_

And you know what? Tony had never done well with _people._ He’d never been able to figure them out. But perhaps there was something that Tony _could_ do to assure himself… something that could make him more certain.

He glanced to the small table beside his bed, and let his gaze pause on the spare charm bracelet which was still resting there. He didn’t try to be subtle, but the movement was swift enough that it could have been mistaken as something he didn’t want Loki to see. And once he was sure that Loki had noticed where Tony was looking—

Tony looked back up, and properly met Loki’s bright green gaze for the first time since he had left the cave. “Loki,” he said. “I think… you should go.”

Loki’s expression crumpled, the light in his eyes dimming. “Oh,” he said.

And Tony was… well. He was half expecting that Loki was going to say something about the danger that awaited him outside, or the fact that Tony had _said_ Loki could stay until morning. Surely, if it was true that Loki could not lie, then Tony going back on his word would be something entirely inexcusable? But either way, Tony had very little doubt that Loki would want to _stay_, because he had admitted before that he didn’t want their time together to come to an end.

Perhaps, this would be it. Perhaps Loki would try again, would step close and meet his gaze and speak in that tone which was impossible to deny.

But—

“If that is what you wish,” Loki said. He held Tony’s gaze for a moment longer, his eyes more than sad.

And then… he turned away.

Tony felt something thick lodge in his throat as he watched Loki head for the bedroom door, shoulders slumped and arms wrapping around his middle. That had been the perfect chance for Loki to get what he wanted, and yet—

He hadn’t taken it.

“Loki,” Tony called– the name falling from his lips before he’d entirely decided that it was what he was going to do.

“Do not worry, Anthony,” Loki said, not even looking around. “I will not bother you ever—”

“I’m sorry,” Tony cut in, actually meaning it. “I just needed to make _sure.”_

Loki paused at that– and when he turned his head again, Tony held his gaze unflinchingly. It wasn’t as unsettling as it should have been.

“I think, between the two of us,” Loki whispered, “_I_ am not the one who is owed an apology.”

“Yeah, but. I’ll give it anyway.” Tony finally glanced away. “Not that what you said is any less true. You fucked up.”

From the corner of his eye, Tony saw Loki flinch.

“And I _am_ sorry,” Loki said. “I wish there was a way that I could make it up to you—”

“There is.” Tony swallowed to clear his throat, sure that this might turn out to be a mistake.

But… Loki had already proved that he _wasn’t_ going to try and hypnotise Tony again. And he didn’t _have_ a physical allure, not like Tony’d thought. Loki was just… well, he wasn’t exactly _just_ anything, but he _was_ the person Tony had come to know over those days in the cave. And _that_ Loki? The Loki who had gone out of his way to make sure Tony was comfortable? The Loki who had, apparently, risked his life and come to the village just to _apologise?_

Maybe he deserved a chance.

Loki was still waiting for Tony to give his reply, his hands not quite fidgeting with the book but– looking as if it was a strain to keep them from doing so.

“Loki… stay,” Tony said. “If, you still want.”

It was a strange kind of parody of that last moment in the cave– only there was far more space between them, and far less comfort. But… perhaps, it was something of a start. They wouldn’t be able to go back to the way that they had been before, but maybe they could find some kind of new ground.

Tony was just trying to think of something to say when Loki glanced down to the meal that had no doubt long since gone cold.

“You need to eat,” he said. “I did mean it, when I said that it would help.”

“Yeah, probably,” Tony admitted. “Did you have something?”

Loki shook his head. “I did not want to take any of your food.”

Tony snorted. “You fed me for long enough. It only seems fair.”

Loki nodded at that, though he still seemed to hesitate a little– and then he placed the compendium of creatures back down on the bed, and moved toward the door.

Once Loki was out of sight, Tony’s gaze was drawn back to that bloody book. Tony considered going over it again, looking at the section on nagas with fresh eyes. But… he decided not to. He couldn’t be sure that what Loki had said truly was one hundred per cent accurate, but then– he couldn’t be sure that the book was, either. Maybe… it was time that he started to act on a little bit of faith.

It was more than a little daunting, but… at the same time? It was exhilarating. Not knowing what was about to come next, being challenged and _surprised_ and–wasn’t that everything he’d liked about Loki in the first place?

Well, okay, not _everything—_

Goddamn it.

By the time Loki returned with a plate of his own, Tony had only picked up the book so that he could move it to the bedside table, making room for Loki on the mattress.

Loki still looked a little hesitant, though– so Tony picked up his fork and pointed it at him in a manner that could not be mistaken for anything other than teasing.

“If you get stains on my sheets, then I’m not going to be happy, you hear me?”

That had the effect that Tony was hoping, for Loki almost smiled as he stopped hesitating and moved to sit down on the bed. There was still a fair amount of tension lining his shoulders, though, and he only picked at the food on his plate.

Tony did the same, for a few moments– as he wracked his mind trying to think of something to say.

“So…”

Loki arched a wry eyebrow. “So?”

The expression and the exasperated tone gave Tony some familiar ground to stand on, and he found himself continuing in a manner that was almost playful.

“_So._ You’re a naga.”

“I am,” Loki said, still sounding curious– and Tony supposed it was a testament to how hard the past few days had been that neither of them were frustrated by the repetition. “Are you… sure, that you do not want to see the proof of that?”

“No, I…” Tony paused for a minute, thinking on his response carefully. “I think… that after all of this, I’m going to trust you on your word for that one. Just this once.”

Loki’s expression softened, and he turned a little more on the mattress, so that they were facing each other properly. “I do not believe that I deserve that, but… thank you, Anthony.”

“You’re welcome.” Tony turned slightly as well, pulling one of his legs up onto the bed, bent at the knee. “But, uh. If you want, you could tell me more about nagas?”

Loki looked surprised at that, and it was Tony’s turn to almost smile as those green eyes flickered over to the book on the bedside table.

“I didn’t read that page again,” Tony explained. “I’ve heard about nagas, I know a fair amount about a lot of the creatures who live in the forest. That book was just to refresh my memory, you know? Everyone in this village, we’re all taught about different creatures from a rather young age. It’s something of a necessity.”

Loki winced at that, but he began speaking before Tony could formulate a comment on it. “But why do you wish to hear about nagas, if you already know?”

Tony glanced away again. “Maybe I just want to hear it from you.”

He could feel Loki’s gaze on him, but Tony just continued picking at his food, twisting the spoon through the stew.

It took a long moment, but then Loki spoke in a smooth tone of voice that worked to betray his nervousness far more than a tremor ever could. And Tony was… well, he wasn’t _quite_ surprised to realise that he knew Loki well enough to recognise that the smoother tone meant he _was_ nervous, and that when Loki was more comfortable, he spoke in a manner which was far more uncultivated.

Loki didn’t start where Tony thought that he would– rather than talking about nagas themselves, he started to tell Tony about his own childhood. He spoke about how he had lived in a nest of powerful nagas, his father the leader of them all and his mother a skilled wielder of seiðr, like Loki himself. They had been well hidden from humans, apparently– but then Loki’s brother had antagonised a nearby town in a fit of arrogance, and the nest had been forced to scatter to the winds. Loki had not seen any of them in years.

Tony wasn’t sure at which point in the story he had shifted his gaze once again, but it was not long before he found himself unable to draw his eyes _away_ from Loki. He’d known already that Loki lived alone, that he had for a long time. But, realising what had happened to Loki in the past, the circumstances that had _led_ to him being alone, it just… it made Tony ache, made him want to pull Loki into a hug. Especially when he realised just how much hostility Loki must hold for humans, how much he must have had to swallow down to be able to have helped Tony on that first day.

“I’m so sorry, Loki,” Tony said.

“Why?” Loki asked. “You weren’t one of the humans who forced us out.”

“That doesn’t mean I can’t be sorry.” Tony thought for a moment, and he was glad that Loki gave him those few seconds so that he could get his thoughts in order. “And… I’m sorry that I didn’t give you the chance to explain. That was… I mean, I could have handled it with a little more maturity, but—”

“No,” Loki said, shaking his head. “I… how did you put it? I _fucked up._ I think, after what I tried to do… it would have been a greater cause for concern if you had _not_ acted the way you did.” The weight of Loki’s gaze felt heavy. “Anthony?”

“Yes, Loki?”

“I truly _am_ sorry for almost hypnotising you.”

“Yeah,” Tony said, his brows pulling into a frown. “Yeah, I think I got that.”

“And, Anthony, I swear to you.” Loki’s eyes blazed, and he leaned forward to grasp Tony’s hand– and Tony did not pull back. “I swear that it will _never_ happen again.”

Holding Loki’s gaze, those bright green eyes still feeling like they could reach down into Tony’s very soul, Tony felt like he was on the edge of a precipice. Like this decision would be the one upon which every other line of his life from this moment on would rest upon. He felt it as a pressure in his chest, as the catch of breath in his throat. It was messy and scary and it felt like maybe he needed more time, but… really, did it have to be so terrifying? Should it feel like he was about to throw himself from a cliff when he felt like he would be safe either way– because, strangely, he felt like he could trust Loki to be there at the bottom to ensure that his landing was soft.

And… perhaps that was something of an indicator all on its own?

If he forced away all the complications, all the twisted mess that made him feel like it was the end of the world– if he pushed back the things that didn’t _matter_ and focused only on the very heart of the problem, Tony knew that there was one simple fact that would form the crux of his decision.

Tony couldn’t _forgive_ Loki for what he’d almost done in the past, but… perhaps, there was a chance that they could still have a future.

“Okay,” Tony said– and this time, his smile was _warm_. “I believe you.”

Loki’s expression brightened with wonder in return– and in that moment, Tony realised he had hardly any doubts that he had made the correct decision.

From there, it was almost _ludicrous_ how easy it felt to slip back into their old routine, to fall into a discussion as if they had never had an argument, as if they had never fallen apart. Tony would never say that he wasn’t the kind of person to hold grudges, but– Loki had apologised, and Tony really, _truly_ did believe him when he said that he would not allow it to happen again. Loki was doing his best to right the wrong, and that was certainly something that Tony was capable of appreciating. And besides– he certainly _was_ the kind of person to hurl himself wholeheartedly into his decisions once they had been made, and he had decided to give Loki a chance. He wasn’t about to just throw that away.

They spent the evening _talking–_ getting to know one other all over again, and making each other laugh. They gravitated closer on the mattress, sitting with their arms brushing together– and Tony just, every word, helped him feel more _open_. Spending time with Loki had always been _easy_, and now that their conflict had been talked out, they were able to just, well, not start _over_, and not go back to where they were, but rather begin reforging the connection between them into something completely new.

They talked for what could have been hours, and it was only when one of Tony’s sentences was broken clean in half by a yawn that they even realised it.

Loki hesitated, his gaze flicking to the door. “I should let you rest. Do you have an extra blanket that you do not mind me using? I would not ask, but the cold—”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Tony told him, shoving both his and Loki’s cleared plates onto the side table, pushed the blanket down and shifted to lean back against one side of the headboard before patting the space beside him. “Come here.”

Green eyes widened, but Loki did not question it– he slid over the bed to sit at Tony’s side. Then, holding Loki’s gaze, Tony wriggled down the headboard so he was horizontal, and reached for the blanket. Loki seemed a little awkward as he did the same– but he did not seem hesitant as his green seiðr ran over his body, transforming the clothes he wore into a nightshirt.

“Whoa,” Tony breathed, the sound escaping completely without his permission. He felt a flush warm his cheeks, but he figured– hey, he’d already practically declared himself by accident when he’d said he thought Loki was a siren—

Which, goddamn, that was embarrassing, let’s not think about that—

So what was one more truth?

“Your seiðr really is amazing,” he said– and then it was Loki’s turn to blush. He didn’t flush as brightly as Tony had a tendency to do – totally unfair, considering how pale Loki’s skin was – but the light dusting of pink over his cheekbones was still enough to make Tony’s chest do a weird little flutter.

Loki cleared his throat, and shifted a little closer. “Here,” he said, lifting one hand between them. “If… it is all right?”

“Yeah,” Tony whispered. “Go for it.”

It might have been a bit of a loss, since nightclothes were far cheaper to buy than the leather pants and wool shirt Tony was wearing– but it was worth it for the electrifying feel of Loki’s seiðr over his skin.

Loki looked surprised when Tony smiled, but the surprise melted away fairly quickly to be replaced by warmth. He seemed a bit awkward as he settled under the covers, and it wasn’t until Tony shifted closer of his own accord that Loki began to relax. He moved a little gingerly at first, but as soon as Tony had made it clear that he wasn’t going to push Loki away, Loki near on _melted_ into Tony’s side.

Tony remembered the thoughts he’d had on the matter before– that Loki, not liking the cold, probably enjoyed pressing close to Tony’s human warmth. It made more even more sense now, knowing that Loki was likely cold-blooded. But, thinking about the logical side of it all did not slow Tony’s nerves.

It wasn’t– this was like nothing that they had done before, even back in the cave. It was new and it had Tony’s heart pounding, and yet… as they curled together, Loki’s head resting on Tony’s shoulder and Tony’s arm wrapping around Loki’s waist, there was one thing that Tony knew for sure—

He didn’t want to let Loki go.

Tony could _try_ to tell himself that it was because he didn’t want Loki to freeze out in the main room, all alone and without a proper blanket. He could have told himself that it was to keep a better eye on him. But no amount of lying to himself could hide the truth.

And the truth was… that he fell asleep in Loki’s arms with a smile painted over his lips and without a single thought regarding whether what he was doing was smart.

Tony was still smiling as he came into wakefulness a few hours later, despite being woken by… some kind of noise– and far too early if the ache behind his eyelids was any indication. He and Loki seemed to have moved apart during the night, but Tony’s smile stayed put as he stretched, arching his spine before reaching out for—

Tony frowned, and blinked into the darkness as he opened his tired eyes. 

“Loki?”

He glanced to the side– his eyes widening in confusion and concern—

And as he stared at the empty space beside him, the piercing sound of a bloodcurdling scream wiped his smile away. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find the art for this chapter on tumblr [here.](https://rabentochter.tumblr.com/post/189165971329/orange-art-someone-wrote-the-next-chapter-for)


	7. Despite all evidence

Tony launched himself from the bed in such a hurry that his feet became twisted up in the sheets, and he had to throw a hand out to catch himself on the small table beside the bed lest he faceplant onto the floorboards. His mind hadn’t quite caught up to his instinctive reactions, and while every part of him was screaming to hurry and find out what had happened, to find _Loki_, he still had not entirely woken up.

Thus it took him a few moments to pull the sheets away from his legs, and then after throwing them onto the floor he near tripped over them again as he hurried to his feet. He scrambled for something to wear, since all he had on was the nightshirt that Loki had transformed from his clothes the night before, and as much as he didn’t care at this point what people saw him in he was just coming to awareness enough to recognise that running outside to investigate a scream in only thin cotton and no shoes would not be particularly advisable. He wouldn’t be much help if he broke his toe on the first step out of the door.

Thankfully, he was not a particularly tidy person, and there was a pair of pants strewn by the wall that he pulled on quickly, simply tucking the long nightshirt into it. It looked fine enough that it could pass for ordinary wear, especially when Tony threw on a coat that he pulled out from under his bed. He was still stuffing arms through sleeves that were oddly too long as he hurried out into the living space for his boots, and the moment they were on his feet – almost losing his balance as he tried to get them on as fast as he could – he was heading for the exit.

He wrenched the door open with enough force that it might have caused his shoulder to ache, had his body not been singing with adrenaline. Tony’s breath was coming in pants, his heart was pounding hard enough that he could hear the blood rushing through his ears. He tried to tell himself that everything was going to be fine. He _knew_ already that the scream hadn’t been Loki– of course, he’d never heard Loki scream before, but he felt that he could be rather certain that the scream he had heard was feminine.

Not… that the thought helped overly much. Because, the further he ran, the more screams he began to hear– the sounds of terror, the pounding of so many feet over the cobbles. It wasn’t long before he came upon them, the people running in the opposite direction– most still in their nightclothes just as Tony was, having paused only to put on shoes and pull their children from their beds. Tony knew what was happening, he and every other person in the village knew the protocols by heart even if they had never had to use them—

If the walls were breached, all townsfolk were to head immediately for the town hall, the most easily defended building in the village. No matter what they were doing, they must drop everything and _run. _

But Tony was running in the direction opposite to everyone else, pushing past them where he needed, though his expression was fierce enough that many skittered out of his way. He didn’t stop to think that he might be making a mistake, that it might be better for him to head for the hall the same as the rest of the townsfolk. He didn’t pause in his step, he didn’t falter– he just kept on running, a single-minded determination and a certain level of desperation pushing him on—

But when he turned a corner and reached the end of the main street, he stopped dead– and he _stared._

The house closest to the gate was Bruce’s, positioned so that it was easy to find and direct people to in a moment of emergency, as well as being close to where people would enter from had they experienced trouble out in the forest. The house itself was a sight that Tony knew so very well, but…

The whole front wall had been knocked down and now was little more than a simple pile of twigs, as if something massive had swept across it.

Tony swallowed hard against the lump in his throat. “Fuck.”

It was clear that something had gone very wrong here. And if… if Loki had hurt someone, then that would be entirely Tony’s fault, wouldn’t it? Perhaps he should have sounded the alarm when Loki appeared at his front door, perhaps he should have called for help– but, no. That would have caused the townsfolk to come bearing down with torches and pitchforks, and—

Tony hadn’t lied the night before, when he’d said that he trusted Loki. It almost surprised him, but he really, _truly_ didn’t believe that Loki had meant any harm. Which meant that if this _was_ Loki – and honestly, who else could it be? – then something must have happened. Loki must have been found, or maybe attacked—

But for that, Loki had to have left the house. Why would he do that? Why would he go out from the safety of Tony’s house before the sun was even in the sky, before the gates would be unlocked?

And sure enough, as Tony forced his gaze away from what was left of Bruce’s house and continued toward the gate, hurrying his steps once again, he found that they looked like they had been forced open. One of the heavy, reinforced wooden doors was swinging on a single hinge, and the beam that usually barred the door was cracked and splintered, the edges scorched as if something powerfully hot had forced its way through… something like a blast of seiðr, perhaps.

The sounds coming from the other side were very different from those of panic– which faded away as the townsfolk all made it to safety. In place of screams there were snarls and hisses, the clash of metal and the shouts of a fight. And as Tony stepped through the gates and out of the village, he all but skidded to a halt once more.

It would seem that he was not the only person who had come this way, after all.

He should have guessed, he should have known. For while it was true that _most_ of the villagers were following the instructions to retreat to the town hall, those who were tasked with defending the city were to head for the walls, to try and stop the danger before the damage became too much.

And sure enough, Steve, Clint, and Natasha were all in the grassy area between the walls and the tree line, weapons in hand as they worked together to try and get the jump on their opponent. But… Tony’s gaze slid over them easily.

Because reared up opposite them was—

Well… it was _Loki, _but—

Not as Tony knew him.

Loki was wearing shining armour, his coat made of leather, plated with gold and trimmed with green, very clearly designed for battle. His black hair looked almost sharp despite Tony _knowing_ that it would be soft to the touch, and his hands were curled like claws as they glowed a venomous emerald.

But… most striking about him was his _tail_, long and gleaming in the sunlight. The shining black scales were broken by patterns of green that glinted as Loki moved, giving a rippling effect that was near impossible for Tony to pull his eyes from. It was… well, it was far larger than any snake could _ever_ have been, easily powerful enough to have knocked over Bruce’s house like it was made of nothing but kindling.

And, in a way… Tony couldn’t help but think that it was rather beautiful.

His reaction to such a sight probably should have been more worrying than anything else, but he forced the thought from his head– because now wasn’t the time for gawping _or_ for panicking, regardless of whichever it was that his body chose to do. Because Clint had his bow aimed at Loki’s head, while Natasha and Steve were running forward with their respective blades in their hands. And Tony—

Well.

That was… that was still _Loki_. And Tony knew exactly what he needed to do.

Feet moving more swiftly than they had been even before, Tony raced forward and threw himself in front of Loki, his back to the naga as he held his arms wide.

“Stop this,” he demanded, his voice sharp and strong but not quite reaching a shout. Natasha and Steve halted mid-step, but none of the three lowered their weapons. “Stop this _now.” _

“Tony, get out of the way,” Natasha ordered, the knife in her hand wicked sharp. “You don’t understand how dangerous—”

“Oh, I know perfectly well,” Tony cut in. “And you’re going to _stop,_ and you’re going to let him go.”

“That’s a naga,” Clint said harshly. “And he was _inside the walls—” _

“Yes, because I _let him in,”_ Tony snapped. That, of course, was a lie– but he did not quite feel that he had the luxury of time, and explaining what had actually happened would take far longer. “Loki is my friend, as much as any of you. And I knew that he wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

Another lie considering how he had felt at the time, but it was true enough now. Even if that was almost a shock to realise– that Tony actually _did_ believe… that despite all evidence, he still did not think that whatever was happening here was Loki’s fault.

He was sure there would be some kind of explanation– but he was also sure that the others would not allow him the time to give it.

And, sure enough—

“Tony come on, you– you’re probably being controlled,” Clint said. “You need to snap _out of it—”_

“Nagas are only capable of hypnosis when they’re looking you in the eye,” Tony snapped back. “Which he isn’t doing right now, so—”

“Hypnosis can have longer effects,” Natasha tried– but Tony wasn’t having any of it.

“Loki saved my life,” Tony snarled at them. “And I’m not going to let you—”

“How do you even know its name?” Clint demanded. “Tony, what are you—”

“That doesn’t matter—”

“Anthony,” Loki said, his voice softer than any of the others and yet somehow still capable of cutting through them all. “You mussst ssstep assside.”

Oh god– the hiss in Loki’s tone was more pronounced now than it had ever been, and it raised the hairs along the back of Tony’s neck. But– Tony only jerked his head, the broken parody of a denial.

_“No,”_ he said, his voice nearing a hiss as well. “I won’t, not when– you didn’t mean to hurt anyone, did you?”

“I have _not_ hurt anyone,” Loki replied– and while it wasn’t a true agreement, it was good enough for Tony.

Loki, after all, could not lie.

“You see?” Tony said, his gaze having never left his friends. “He hasn’t, he _won’t_ hurt anyone– not if you just _leave him_ _alone.”_

There was a pregnant pause, a moment in which the world itself seemed to hold its breath—

But then—

Steve shifted his grip on his sword and hefted his shield just ever so slightly higher, his expression stony as he began to speak. “Tony,” he said, his tone mirroring Loki’s in a way that made it feel like it was tugging Tony in two separate directions. “All you need to do is step over here, okay? We don’t want to hurt you, and we don’t want to hurt him—”

“_That_ is a lie,” Loki hissed—

“Tony,” Steve insisted again, clearly not caring to listen to what Loki had to say. _“Please.” _

But there was no way Tony was going to move, not unless they moved first. And they weren’t going to just _go_, that much was clear. It was going to take a little convincing.

Loki clearly thought it was impossible– Tony could hear him moving, could hear the shift of scales over the ground, but he didn’t want to just give up. So he kept his spine straight and his head high, and he tried one more time.

“Guys, please. What was Loki doing when you saw him first?” Tony asked. “Was he attacking? Was he damaging the town, or trying to manipulate anyone?”

Steve looked like he might have been thinking about his answer– but Clint answered immediately.

“He was skulking around in the shadows, by the gate,” he snapped. “The only reason a monster could have for being inside would be—”

“I did not want to be sssseen,” Loki interrupted. “Of course I was attempting to remain covert—”

“You were trying to remain covert so you could _kill us all.”_

“That’s—

“Smart, really, to get in while the gates were open disguised as a traveller, as a _human,_” Natasha said, “And then open them in the small hours to let in all your friends—”

“Just _stop,” _Tony snapped. “All of you! What is this going to accomplish? Just let Loki go back into the forest, there’s no need for this to be a fight!”

“Tony,” Steve said out of nowhere, his voice low and calm in stark contrast to Clint’s, his blue eyes flickering between Tony and Loki. “What are you wearing? Where did you get that coat?”

Half surprised at the sudden change in subject, Tony quickly looked down at himself, at the coat that he had pulled from under his bed without even properly looking at it.

It was similar to the one that Loki was wearing now, though Loki’s was more closely fitted, a fair bit shorter, stopping just below his hips save for the coattails, and bearing far more pieces of golden metal over the leather. It was clearly made to be worn in his current form and for a fight, whereas the coat Tony wore was the one Loki had donned while in his human form, when he had come across Tony that day in the forest.

“Uh—”

“He’s been hypnotised,” Clint said again, more harshly this time, raising his bow. “Steve, I’m sorry, but you know we’ve only got one option here—”

“Tony,” Steve said again, almost sounding like he was begging now despite the shadow that was starting to pass across his face. “Last chance. _Please._”

And Tony knew that he would still be able to give up now, still be able to get out of this. His friends didn’t _want_ to hurt him– if he renounced everything he’d said about Loki, he’d be able to walk away. Oh, they’d question him about it, but he’d be all right in the end.

But… that would mean leaving Loki to face them on his own. And while Loki was a skilled mage, Tony knew that he was _tired_– and he knew how well Steve, Clint, and Nat fought in a team.

He also knew that there would be no talking his friends out of this one. They’d all had it drilled into them, all of their life– the safety of the town comes before all else. The town, and the people in it, _must_ be protected from the monsters in the forest.

And that—

Well, if that meant that Tony had to be cut down…

It wouldn’t be the first time something like this had happened. They’d heard stories of men being sentenced to death after getting bitten by werewolves, generations before their time, before the townsfolk had built the wall.

Tony would get a trial, and he _would_ be mourned– he would be but a casualty of war. Unless, of course, he stood down and let them do what they wished to the naga behind him.

But, Tony _would not leave Loki._ Because what they would do to him… it would likely be far worse than anything that they would do to Tony.

So he held his ground, and lifted his chin—

But if he were being entirely honest, he was not expecting to get _shot_.

Attacked, yes.

Captured, yes.

Dragged back to town for a trial, _yes._

But an _arrow? _

Tony’s eyes widened in the split second as it whistled through the air, knowing that he would not be able to get out of the way in time—

But then there was a hiss from behind him, strong arms wrapping around his waist and a body curling around him—

Then the thump of pierced flesh– and that hiss turned into a gasp of pain.

Tony cried out, his earlier fear for _himself_ immediately wiped away by an all-encompassing horror.

“_Loki—” _

Tony gasped and clutched at the leather armour, trying to hold Loki in his arms. But the naga was too heavy, and they both ended up slumping forward– Tony on his knees, and Loki’s torso on his lap.

The arrow was in Loki’s back– below his ribs on his left side, and far closer to where his kidneys should be than Tony was comfortable with.

The shift of feet over the ground had Tony snapping up his gaze, and his glare was burning rage as he stared up at his _friends_, at the weapons that were still trained in their direction.

Tony wasn’t sure what he could do. He didn’t have a weapon, and although there was knife in a sheath at Loki’s side Tony knew he wouldn’t have a hope using it against the three of them.

So he held Loki a little closer, and leaned down over him.

“You want him? Then you’re going to have to _kill_ _me,”_ Tony hissed. “And I want you to look me in the eye when you do it.”

Steve faltered, but the other two? They kept on coming, the cold determination in their eyes far harder than anything Tony had seen them direct at him ever before.

Tony felt himself shudder, but he refused to back down– and he leaned even further over Loki, so that he was protecting him with his whole body, returning a well-earned favour. Loki’s hand curled in Tony’s shirt, and for a second Tony looked down to meet Loki’s pained green eyes—

And then, it was as if Loki _exploded._

His seiðr burst out of him in a blaze of green that lit the still-dark sky, and Tony had to close his eyes against the burning brightness of it. He heard screams, he heard a _crack—_

And then as the light faded behind his eyelids, Tony opened his eyes once more. He had to blink a few times, to get used to the dim– but when he was, his eyes widened.

Steve and Natasha were both on the ground, and Clint was nowhere to be seen. They _were_ breathing, as far as Tony could tell– but they were entirely out cold.

“Holy shit,” Tony whispered. Then he looked down to Loki again—

“There,” Loki whispered. “You’re… sssafe now.”

And then, with a shuddering, exhausted breath—

Loki’s eyes slipped closed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find the amazing art for this chapter on tumblr [here.](https://rabentochter.tumblr.com/post/612840183930503168/in-the-dark-of-the-night-where-a-reveal-finally)


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